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... for their property and whether it is still possible to buy a package now. Rebecca's uncle and aunt can do this because they have worked in a bank for a long time, and they know many people from the insurance business. One of the farmers - Rick Walker is known for his outstanding ability to make good bargains and buy things really cheap.
Because Rick is almost 60 and would probably not be able to contribute when the physical labor is needed, it would be the best to engage him in something else. Some of the things that people will need before, during and after the flood are different cordless and emergency help devices, which can be used for communication. Rick is still a very good driver and has a big truck on high wheals. He can, therefore, serve as a community driver and the person who will buy all the necessary things. While everybody else is busy with other duties, Rick Walker can do the needed shopping. One of the first shopping trips to be made should probably be to the special electronic equipment store, which is located about 30 miles away from Marion to buy: portable battery-operated radios, flashlights and many extra batteries.
All inhabitants of Marion have cell phones, some extra waterproof ones, would not harm, however. Rick could pick them up upon the request as well. Some other things such as first aid kits and manuals, essential medicines, can openers, sturdy shoes and inflatable boats will be also needed. Ricks wife, Elizabeth, can call around and find out all the prices and make orders for those as well. She can serve as a receptionist and collect the orders from those, who need something extra for the flood (e. g.
special things for disabled or infants, etc. ). Because there are many purchases to be made for the common goal, there should be a person responsible for finances of the community. Tim Johnson is a good accountant and is quite capable of keeping track of all the expenses. He can calculate the amount of money needed to purchase all the necessary items after Elizabeth Walker has done the research on prices and availability of those goods. The estimated number should be divided among those who take part in this operation. Also, when extra orders are made, Tim would have to put them on the accounts of requesters.
In order to purchase all the necessary items, there should be created a temporary common bank account. Each member of the community will have to contribute their share of expenses needed for purchasing the emergency equipment. This is the money to be used by Rick Walker to pay for his shopping and gasoline needed to deliver the goods. Therefore, Tim Johnson will serve as a treasurer and an accountant at the same time. While the financial and the provision part of the operation are taken care of, it is the time to think about the necessary instructions that people need to receive. This job is better suited for someone who is a good organizer and is respected within the community.
Also, this job will probably be better for a woman because none of them will be engaged in any physical activities. The person, who educates others, has to be well informed herself. Because Rebecca Johnson had already done the initial research and has such a great experience of organizing different events, she can be made responsible for carrying out the information to all the members of the community. She can either gather people at her house or at some public place school building, for example. It is also a good idea to appoint a certain time, go on line and chat about what needs to be done. Many high school students are very good with computers and can be engaged in creating a news letter covering all the information that every family needs to know in order to be prepared as much as possible for the flood.
Rebecca can ask some of her friends, who are now teaching at school, whether someone wants to volunteer to find a needed student. The information that should be made known to all the inhabitants of Marion is a basic instructions package about how to deal with the flood. Every family should find an out-of-state relative to be a connecting link for the family in case somebody gets lost. Also, all family members should be taught how to turn gas and electricity lines off.
Even the youngest children should know how to dial 911 and their parents cell phone numbers. Rebecca should tell other moms how Charlotte teaches her little brother to dial the numbers of their grandparents. Likewise, the older siblings in each family can be asked to do the same to their younger ones. Children will feel significant and important if they are given such a responsibility. They will know that there is something extraordinary going on and that they are a part of it as well. It will be easier to expect cooperation from them when the real time of crisis comes if they were taught how to act and what to do.
While women are busy with organizational and informational activities and the older people do shopping and deal with financial issues, younger men should start the real physical preparation for the flood. It is clear that if a serious flood breaks out, most houses can be just washed away. People might also have to evacuate until the danger goes away if the authorities advise it. It is also clear that the damages can be very serious, and that is why the maximum effort is essential now.
One of the things that can be done to decrease the negative effects of the flood is to strengthen each house by putting metal carcass on bearings and corners. John Johnson as a leader has to break all the available people up into small groups of 5 - 6 people and go from house to house to do the fixing. This will allow increasing efficiency in every team. If the responsibilities are divided up among each teams members according to specialization (e. g. one person prepares the bearings, the other one puts the carcass on, etc. ) the output will be even greater.
It is obvious that all the houses and buildings on all ranchos cannot be strengthened; therefore, each family should choose what constructions they want to fix. There might not be enough time to do these jobs before the flood watch is announced to take care of all the buildings, so people have to act really quickly without wasting any time. In order to be a good leader, one has to provide enough motivation for his team. The situation with the flood is different, however, and John Johnson does not have to come up with any special tools to make people want to do something.
He has never been a particularly good leader or speaker, but he is always very confident and knows what he is doing. These are the qualities, which most people lack in crisis situations. If John demonstrates them, people will follow and trust him. He does not have to persuade people that doing something is important, because they already perfectly realize it. What he needs to do, however, is to make people see that what he proposes to do will work for their common good, and that they can only reach their goals if they work as a team. Wall Construction After the houses have been strengthened, it is now time to think about how to decrease the power of the flood wave.
Somebody offered to build a wall that will stop and break the water if Mississippi overflows its banks. Such breaking walls are usually recommended to be about three feet high, 90 feet long and are built in a U-shape. The purpose of such walls is not to prohibit the water from coming to Marion, because it will happen anyway. The main reason for constructing them, is to reduce the damaging power of the water, especially considering the fact that the town is located not so far from the river. The breaking wall can be built using sacks filled with sand and gravel, and all kinds of rocks and other hard materials. Rick Walker can buy sacks during one of his shopping trips, and there is plenty of sand and gravel that can be used in the fire department office in Marion.
Also, it should be mentioned in the Internet newsletter that a big amount of metal pieces or anything hard is needed. Every family should look for pieces of the old furniture, old useless metal equipment, etc. One of the local families, Williams, has three grown sons, who are very physically strong and can go around collecting the things for the barricade from house to house. They can bring everything that was collected to the Jim Garrets rancho because it is the closest one to the river.
It was decided that the barricade should be built about 2 miles away from the Garrets place and that all the preparations would be made on his rancho. The firemen agreed to bring the necessary amount of sand and help to fill the sacks with it. Every male person should be engaged in this activity. Again, to make the job easier for everybody people need to work in small groups with divided responsibilities. Final Touches People are worrying about what will happen with their farms when the flood comes. It is clear for those in the cotton growing business that they will loose their harvest this year.
They should find out as much as possible about the National Flood Insurance and what it can offer to them. The broiler-breeding farmers, such as the Johnson family, are even more worried. It is a hard decision, but they will probably have to slaughter all the chickens and sell them to their buyers on discount or even give them away, if necessary. After all the preliminary preparations have been accomplished, each family needs to think about the amount of food and water needed for them.
It would probably be more rational if each family takes care of their own food supply themselves. Darla Johnson would be a good person to go to the grocery store and pick up all the necessary items for her family. She does the shopping quite often herself because everybody else is usually busy with other things. Darla is a very softhearted woman and if is left without an occupation, she might panic and do something impulsive. Another thing, which Darla can do, is to call Marlene and David (her other children who study in New York) and ask them to be near the phone when the flood warning is announced. They can help if some family member gets lost.
The experience of the last flood has shown that state-to-state connection worked better than the local one. The only thing that people of Marion can do now is fill their sinks, bathtubs and other reservoirs with water in case it gets contaminated, turn off gas and electricity lines and listen to their portable battery-operated radios for the flood warning. In order to stay alive and safe, they need to closely follow the directions from the authorities. They can be sure that they did everything they could to ease the possible terrifying consequences of this disaster. Even the worst possible situation or problem can be solved if the decisions made are rational and weighted. Such decisions become even more crucial when the time of crisis comes, especially when each wrong decision can lead to fatality.
Even though crises usually call for bad analogies, there is one good feature that they have - they tend to unite people. Single unity is not enough, however. Good leadership, teamwork and specialization are essential for the successful crisis management. Roles of participants should be determined in accordance with their abilities, knowledge and skills. Responsibility should be divided between everybody who is engaged in the activity equally in order for them to feel significant and needed. The motivational factor is already present: in crisis situation everybody wants to stay alive and safe.
Any manager has to always remember that people are the most important and valuable resource there is. Only by managing them correctly, one can reach success in any enterprise. Bibliography: Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2002 web web web web
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Research essay sample on House To House Tim Johnson
