Discussion Topics

DT1

I work for the State of Maryland in the Emergency Management field. Our mission is to “organize and prepare for public health and medical emergencies through statewide partnerships with public, private, and government agencies to coordinate an effective emergency response for the health and safety of all residents of Maryland” (DHMH). The article “Managing the life cycle of Virtual teams” by S. Furst, M. Reeves, B. Rosen and R. Blackburn touched base on a strategic outline method we utilize every day.  To briefly share some examples, this article analyze the following phases of virtual project team development:

• Forming
• Storming
• Norming
• Performing

Maryland has Emergency Support Function (ESF) teams which are a group of agencies that work together in the event of an emergency. We are classified as ESF-8 Public Health and come together and work virtually with the following agencies (in the event of specific emergencies):

• Department of Agriculture
• Department of Commerce
• Department of Defense
• Department of Energy
• Department of Homeland Security
• Department of the Interior
• Department of Justice
• Department of Labor
• Department of State
• Department of Transportation
• Department of Veterans Affairs
• Environmental Protection Agency
• General Services Administration
• U.S. Agency for International Development
• U.S. Postal Service
• American Red Cross

During the forming phase the Secretary of the State determines what type of event is occurring and what agencies should be called on. An example of this would be if a truck had an oil spill on Highway i95. The following agencies would have to form a virtual team:

• Public Health
• Department of Transportation
• Environmental Protection Agency
• General Services Administration

Once the agencies have come together roles are established. This occurs during the storming phase. We do this by establishing an Incident Command Structure (ICS) Chart and assigning roles and responsibilities. During the norming phase everyone confirms they understand the mission and what they are to do. The performing phase is where the mission is carried out until the incident is handled. During the performing stage, there is one Incident Commander who is in charge to instruct and lead.

Working virtually in many incidences in my experience has been more of a success than in the past. Technology has really evolved and has eliminated the need for excess people on the scene. Bergiel, Bergiel, and Balsmeir states that technology eliminates several costs when looking at forming virtual teams. In the example provided, technology has eliminated the cost of travel, additional overtime, procurement cost, etc.