This case study examines the roles of leadership, communication and conflict management in emergency situations by following the activities of participants in a fiveday emergency exercise involving response agencies from federal, state and local jurisdictions. The results indicated that leadership, communication and conflict management issues are linked, as suggested by Sylves and Waugh (1996) and Kotter (1996). There are some implications in the study that suggest that leadership is the driver of the other two issues, in that at the center where strong leadership was manifest---that is, the Joint Operations Center---communication was smooth and conflict was wellmanaged. However, at the center where leadership faltered, the Joint Information Center, communication was halting and uncertain and conflict was rampant.

Catastrophic events such as natural disasters, major accidents or terrorist attacks that require emergency response often require involvement from multiple jurisdictions, which usually involves a short-term, task-oriented relationship that must develop rapidly and under great pressure to perform. This study validated earlier studies that showed that strong leadership, open communication and quick conflict resolution contribute to successful emergency response (Lindell & Perry, 1995; Caro, 1999; Sylves & Waugh, 1996).

The study suggested that a clear leadership plan, indicating who should be in charge given a specific set of events, assists in the handling of emergency response, and improves communication and aids conflict management as well.