Reactive Management

A management approach which relies on reacting to events, being able to readily correct problems and issues as soon as they arise. To maintain a reactive approach, resources must be able to be immediately redeployed on an almost continuous basis. For short term fluid and rapidly changing events, taking a reactive approach can prove very successful if implemented in a structured way, however, attention to detail and extent of variables impacting on the decision-making process can be considerable and can have a very wearing and degrading effect on performance over time.

Being able to provide ad-hoc solutions can be very beneficial, however, for a sustainable and effective approach, being proactive should be the aim, as the majority of requirements and potential problems, if adequately investigated to identify root causes, can be determined and planned in advance. Having a contingency for reactive management, for what should be few unforeseen problems which can arise, would from part of an overall proactive management approach.