CEM Corner: Problem Statement
By Daryl Lee Spiewak, CEM, TEM, CFM, CEM® Commissioner and ASPEP President Emergency Action Coordinator, Brazos River Authority, Waco, TX
Last month's CEM® Corner provided an overview on writing your emergency management essay. This month's column will describe what a problem statement is and is not, and it will give some examples of problem statements. The problem statement is the primary point from which your essay will flow – demonstrating how you would address, if not solve, the problem.
A problem statement is specific and deals with one issue. It identifies the nature of the problem, who the problem affects, and who or what is causing it. This is very similar to a thesis statement in a college paper. Like a thesis statement, your problem statement is the most important sentence in the essay. It tells the reader exactly what you expect to write about, while setting limits on what can and will be discussed in the document. Problem statements are usually one sentence long, but may be two or three sentences long, and are contained in the introductory paragraph.
A problem statement is not the title of your essay, a statement of fact or an observation. It is not a solution to the problem either. FEMA's SM 241, Decision Making/Problem Solving, defines a "problem" as a situation that exists now or will exist in the future and is considered undesirable by organization members. The example given in the manual states, "A community leader says the problem is that we do not have an EOC." That is a solution. The actual problem may be "the emergency management community cannot coordinate communications adequately during the response phase."
The essay scenario provides you with a solution. Specifically, "describe how you would design, develop and implement a disaster/emergency management system." Your mission is to define an undesirable situation based on your personal experiences and interests.
One method is to think about why your organization needs a disaster/emergency management system. Below are some possibilities.
 Is the old system badly out-of-date?
Is the current system based on specific hazards or events rather than comprehensive emergency management principles?
Does it contain procedures and equipment that no longer exist in your organization?
Did your organization experience a disaster and discover that your current system is in some manner deficient?
Is your organization or position new and thus there are no existing plans?
Did you complete a new hazards analysis and determine that your system could not adequately cope with potential disasters?
Is your old system manpower-intensive due to manual operating procedures and your boss wants it automated?
What if your organization was greatly damaged by a major event – such as the Loma Prieta earthquake, Mississippi River flood, Hurricane Andrew or the World Trade Center bombing – and had to be rebuilt from the ground up?
Each of these examples will give your essay a different focus while allowing you to address all the knowledge, skills and abilities criteria. Only your own imagination limits the variety of problem statements you can develop.
Here are four alternate problem statements based on the examples above. These examples are a starting point to get you thinking. Modify them to suit your own unique experiences and interests.
Although XYZ Company had a disaster plan, it didn't anticipate the effects of a major earthquake that destroyed most of the city services our disaster/emergency management system counted on.
The current disaster/emergency management plan of ABC County in Texas does not address the requirements of a good comprehensive emergency management program.
The 500-year flood that inundated DFG City in Missouri sparked a complete revision of the city's disaster/emergency management system.
The county judge thought our disaster/emergency management system was good, but a recent full-scale exercise clearly demonstrated we were not prepared to manage a train wreck hauling hazardous chemicals.
As you write your essay, you may find that your problem statement needs to be revised. That's OK. Revise it to reflect the overall theme and tone of your essay during the editing process.
Finally, review your problem statement to ensure that it is interesting, specific, and places a limit and focus on the topic.
January 2001, IAEM Bulletin
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