Tactics, command, leadership

to work in a hazardous environment and where people may have

been severely affected by accidents. Unfortunately, this can be a

disadvantage if in conjunction with an emergency response ope-

ration, for example, one is forced to abandon established organi-

sational plans due to the situation and the problems that are to be

resolved necessitating certain restructurings. Such restructurings

can lead to the individual losing his or her sense of security.

Let us now regard the organisation as a system. This approach

entails that the organisation consists of a number of parts that

are interdependent and that have various types of relationships to

one another. The component parts and the relationships between

these parts determine the system’s structure. A whole is thus for-

med by the parts and relationships, where both the component

parts and the relationships will jointly characterise the system’s

characteristics. When one speaks of organisations, most people

probably picture some form of structure, i.e. which parts are in-

cluded and how these parts relate to one another. This leads one’s

thoughts to some form of organisational chart.

For the organisation to function, a general concept for the

organisation’s tasks is required. Normally, such a concept is for-

mulated based on the principal interests’ expectations on the or-

ganisation. One can say that the legal formulation ‘to prevent and

limit injury/damage to persons, property or the environment’ con-

stitutes such a general concept on a high level. In everyday work,

the general objective must be broken down into sub­objectives and

concret tasks. For the organisation to function effectively, even

during emergency response operations, one should have a form

An example of an
organisational
structure, in this case
the elements and role
relationships in a line-
staff organisation.