The Role of HRD in Crisis Situations: Lessons Learned From Hurricane Katrina

Investor fraud, scandals, terrorist acts, and natural disasters are typical unexpected crises organizations can face today. As a consequence, knowledge management and change management have become central themes in organizations. Although the field of Human Resource Development (HRD) has not focused extensively on crisis intervention, recent natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina have started grasping the attention of HRD scholars and practitioners who recognize the role organizational development can play. This article examines knowledge sharing in crisis situations. Specifically, it analyses a 2006 report from the U.S. government on the preparation for and response to Hurricane Katrina by identifying its key themes, scenario facts, and lessons learned. It then makes suggestions on how organizations can improve knowledge-sharing practices in crisis situations, such as the development of integrative planning between agencies and the establishment of robust systems to capture, manage, and disseminate large volumes of data.