Summary:

Hierarchies tend to be viewed as rigid and based
on formal controls. Networks tend to be seen as
fluid and based on relationships. These two organizational
approaches seem to be antithetical to each
other. Yet, there is a blended “hierarchical network”
model between these two organizational approaches
that has shown remarkable success over the past
three decades, when used appropriately.
<p>
In fact, in 2004 the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) asked emergency responders at all
levels of government to use a hierarchical network
model to organize crisis response efforts. This
model, the Incident Command System (ICS), was
developed in California in the 1970s by firefighters
struggling to overcome an organizational paradox
that most crises create. Crises require a mix of skills
and capacities that are beyond a single hierarchy
and therefore require a network of responders. At
the same time, crises require coordination, rapid
decision making, and decisive, coordinated action,
characteristics associated with hierarchies. The ICS
sought to solve this paradox by using aspects of
both networks and hierarchies in a manner consistent
with the needs of crisis situations.
<p>
What is a hierarchical network? It is a form of
social coordination that uses hierarchical control,
in the form of unified and centralized command, to
help manage a network of organizations pursuing a
shared goal. An ICS is neither a pure network nor a
pure hierarchy, but it combines elements of both.
The ICS model organizes incident responses
around a central command. An incident commander
sits atop the hierarchy, overseeing a variety
of functional units—usually planning, operations,
logistics, and administration/finance. In terms of
an organization chart, the ICS model looks like a hierarchy, but relies on the efforts of multiple organizations
that enjoy some measure of autonomy.
To recognize that such a mixture of social forms
exists is remarkable, because much of the study of
networks is devoted to explaining how they are different
from hierarchies.
<p>
Recognizing an ICS as a hierarchical network is
important because it helps us to consider what
management factors will lead to successful crisis
response. Treating an ICS solely as a hierarchy or
solely as a network would lead to a misdiagnosis of
management issues. This report also begins to identify
the management factors that were important for
incident command systems in a variety of settings,
including responses to two major wildland-urban
fires, the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, the terrorist
attack on the Pentagon in 2001, and Hurricane
Katrina in 2005.