| Abstract: | An analytical model is developed to specify the relationship between organizational disaster preparedness and effective disaster response. Specifying this relationship clarifies the theoretical significance of the concept of preparedeness. The model shows how the concept of disaster preparedness. The model shows how the concept of disaster preparedenss applies to a broad range of social services when circumstances overwhelm the usual means of responding to problems. The relationship between organizational preparedness and effectiveness has been widely and ambiguously assumed but never actually tested. The viability of the model is illustrated with data from a Key Resource Chapter of the American Red Cross. The paradoxical nature of organizational effectiveness suggests the need for many empirical studies to further sharpen the analytical connection between preparedness and effectiveness. |
