Success in the crisis management process requires several factors, including the creation and development of a competent administrative system. This enables the organization to identify, analyze, and develop solutions to problems in coordination with qualified competencies, working to make crisis planning an essential component of strategic planning.
The Coronavirus crisis is a global crisis, but in Egypt, it is a national crisis.
What is a National Crisis?
These are direct threats and sudden, unexpected risks that threaten public order, public security, and public health. They can take various forms—whether health, political, social, or economic. Hence, the core elements of a national crisis are:
- Surprise
- Threat
- Continuity
- Time Pressure
Thus, any risks that do not include these elements are not considered crises, but ordinary risks, depending on their severity and effects.
Therefore, the concept of crisis management is the process of containing and managing sudden risks to protect public order, interests, and property—knowing how to face unexpected situations, reduce their aggravation, and quickly control them.
Science and Art
We can confirm that crisis management is both a science and an art:
- It is a science because it depends on a structured framework (a set of principles, laws, systems, theories, analysis methods, and planning).
- It is an art because it relies on personal talent, managerial competence, and individual as well as collective skills.
The Egyptian Model in Handling the Crisis
We must acknowledge the high level of professionalism displayed by the Egyptian government in managing the Coronavirus crisis. This includes the extraordinary medical efforts from the health system—doctors, nursing staff, medical administrations, and pharmacists (the “Soldiers of the White Army”)—as well as a leading organizational framework to exchange information and coordinate communications across security, food security, military, civil society, and media units to exit the crisis with minimal losses.
It is obvious that the government’s performance in managing a crisis serves as a tough test for leadership, showcasing the ability to act quickly, meritoriously, and maneuver around sharp obstacles. The government took decisive decisions in favor of citizens, including:
- Movement & Closures: Enforcing a curfew on main roads, extending school and university suspensions, and closing commercial shops, centers, and malls early on weekdays and 24 hours on weekends.
- Armed Forces & Police: Mobilizing the Armed Forces to assist in disinfection, sterilization, virus prevention, and providing affordable food and supplies to counter market exploitation, alongside police enforcement of all measures.
- Public Spaces & Services: Closing sports and folk clubs, youth centers, gyms, cafes, and entertainment venues, as well as temporarily suspending non-essential government services (Real Estate Registry, Civil Registry, Traffic Licensing, Passports) and extending air traffic suspension.
- Financial & Economic Measures: Central Bank initiatives to defer loan and credit card installments for 6 months, waiving POS and ATM transaction fees, providing liquidity for working capital and salaries, and ensuring uninterrupted postal disbursement of pensions.
Crisis management requires true leadership abilities characterized by courage, honesty, commitment, and the skill to act professionally to reach safety.
From this point of view, the “Stay at Home” slogan became the cornerstone of preventing the outbreak. The Egyptian government’s proactive policy aimed to protect the nation, qualify the state for future challenges, and draw vital lessons to avoid similar crises in the future.
By Dr. Samuel Essam Ammanoeeil
Professor of Management and Strategic Planning – At Egyptian Universities