Business Continuity Plan for Boots Pharmacy - Case Study Example

Name : xxxxxxxxxxx Institution : xxxxxxxxxxx Course : xxxxxxxxxxx Title : Business continuity planning Tutor : xxxxxxxxxxx @2010 Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction Business continuity is categorically one of the essential management processes that deal with the identification of threats that may affect an organization and the impacts of the identified threats on the normal operations of a business organization. The identification of threats that may impact an organization, form a fundamental framework that can be used to develop reliance which is the ability of an organization to effectively respond to threats and protect the key stakeholders within the organization . In addition to adding reliance, the other contributions of the development of a business continuity plan to an organization include aspects such as restoring the ability of an organization to supply essential services, increasing the capacity to manage disruptions that may affect the business and assisting in complimenting of the process of risk management (Doughty 2001). Aims of the Report The aim of the report is to devise a business continuity plan for one of the biggest Pharmaceutical companies in the U.K known as the Boots Pharmaceuticals which is ranked under the category two of the 2005 civil contingencies Act. It is very much necessary for well established organization like the Boots organization to formulate business continuity plans that can assist the organization handle threats or even disruptions that may affect the organizations normal functioning. The documented procedures of the plan are collected and the information is compiled in readiness for use to enable an organization carry out its operations as usual in despite of disruption. The purpose of the document will therefore focus creating a well developed business continuity that will assist Boots Pharmaceutical Company to be well prepared for any incoming threats and also ensure that the organization is safe at all times. The Scope of the Report The report will cover several aspects such as understanding the organization this is through an evaluation of the history of the organization and the evaluation of the main activities undertaken by the organization. The plan will also involve the aspect of risk assessment which mainly entails the evaluation for the critical dependencies within the organization. In order to come up with a business continuity plan that useful for the pharmacy it is vital that the plan has to undergo verification and validation by the organization’s management. Boots Pharmacy Operating Environment Boots limited is one of the top pharmaceutical companies in the U.K. presently the organization has 2,600 stores which are mainly health and beauty stores. The business has outlets in many regions in the U.K. In addition the organization has extended its operations outside to other countries in Europe such as the Republic of Island and Norway. The Boots Company can be categorized under a privately owned company; therefore its shares are not listed or traded on the stock exchange market. The business has for many years operated under transfer of ownership every since its initiation. The Pharmacy can be stated as an organization with a long history. It was first started by John Boots in 1849. The company was restructured to a pure drug store in with a number of subsidiary firms such the Lancs Cash boots chemists were founded, in 1988. In 1920 the business was later sold to the United Drug Company located in America by Jesse Boot. However due to the weakening economic situation in North America, the company was sold back in 1933 to British management and Edinburgh (Britton 1988).The organization managed to establish 180 shops by the end of the 19th Centaury. In the 1990s the company expanded its operations further by opening a drug manufacturing plant in Cramlington, it also begun to diversify its operations by operating a car and bicycle parts business. In the 21 century it seems as if the business is undertaking more initiatives of improving its overall performance. For instance the company has recently made several acquisitions for instance in 2008, Alliance Boots managed to acquire AB Holding Limited. The business has also undertaken several attempts of merging with other organizations in order to increase its share holdings. The reputation of Boots pharmaceutical company can be described as paramount, this is because its market capacity is quite large all over the U.K. In addition the business has further advanced its business activities to other nations in the E.U. The activities performed by this company are evidently highly regulated, this is because as years go by the company has tried to keep up with modern trends for instance in drug manufacturing and technological upgrading of its businesses. The aim of this particular organization is to provide health care services and products that are exceptional in order to effectively cater for the needs of the customers and patients. The business also upholds values of ensuring that customer satisfaction becomes the main priority of the business. In terms of social corporate responsibility Boots Pharmacy can be well credited due to its increased involvement in matters that can assist the society. The organization has undertaken various positive initiatives that fall under four major activities, which include work place, community, environment and market place. These particular divisions were highlighted in the 2007 report on social corporate responsibility. The main community based activity is the aspect of improvement of community health. Through the various networks of Pharmacies, the organization has reached out to a large number of people who require health products. The organization also uses it employees to improve on community health, through encouraging them to use there high qualifications in helping people live healthier lifestyles. For instance the business has organized several community outreach programs were the employees of the organization can talk to the community concerning the health care products available at Boots Pharmacy in addition the also give important talks on healthy living. The organization also participates in environmental conservation activities. The major priority is based on the improvement of carbon management which is basically an essential priority. The organizations union referred to as the alliance boots union is a leading example to other organization when it comes to addressing matters that threaten the environment such as carbon emission. The market place activity of the organization involves creating a practical image to the customers that the organization is actually the leading pharmacy in the world. The business aims at developing stewardship and highlighting the importance of integrity in all its operations (Buckley 1994). Within the level of the workplace, the organization aims at ensuring that the wellbeing of their employees is well catered for. Boots pharmacy offers training to its employees in order to enhance their skill of undertaking business operations. This aspect has assisted the business take an active role in building a sustainable business. The work place levels is also focused on assisting the community feel and live comfortably, therefore the main mptive of the organization is basically customer based, that is by enhancing customer satisfaction. Critical services Since its establishment the organization has been undertaking varied business activities. Boots pharmacy acts as a health supermarket whereby it provides medication to customers. The organization also provides nutritional advice and supplements. Service such as photographic development is also undertaken by some of the stores. Products such as kitchen and electrical appliances and baby mother essential are also readily available at the stores. Other main activities include optician and dental plans, facilitation of health insurance for instance travel insurance, and also hearing care. Boots Pharmacy has also undertaken general retail activities which include nutritional advice, facials, homeopathy eye laser surgery and Botox nevertheless the organization later abandoned these services in 2003. Other main activities that the organization handles include manufacturing of drugs and also carrying out research on new drug inventions. The pharmacy has innovated new drugs such as, Ibuprofen in 1994 which is used as a painkiller. Maximum Tolerable Period of Disruption Approximately all organizations may at one point face the challenge of disruption of the normal functioning of the business. The effects of disruption to the business include aspects such as product loss, inability to deliver services as recommended and the income or profits of the organization may also decline. This particular threats result to disruption of the normal functioning of the business. When an incident occurs that can affect the operations of the business such as fire for instance Boots Pharmacy once lost one of its branches after a fire outbreak or even terrorist attacks or sabotage it is essential that the organization should be well prepared immediately after the occurrence of the incident. The first five, ten or even twenty minutes after the occurrence of a particular emergency are very much crucial. The action undertaken by the organization will determine the maximum period in which the disruption can last. Disruption can either be anticipated for instance workers strike or not anticipated such as an earthquake, terrorist attack or a fire incident. Any business should be ready to handle either of these disruptions. An organization should have a crisis planning team that formulates a strategy or a plan of dealing with any sort of emergency that has occurred within an organization, in order to reduce the period of disruption of the normal business functioning. During a crisis for example a fire emergency the incident team should formulate an incident response plan within the first minutes and hours of the emergency incident for instance pressing of the emergency alert system. The first day of the disruption should also involve contacting of the suppliers, consumers the staff and concerning the recovery of critical activities. The recovery may take a period of months, years or even weeks in order to ensure that activities such as replacement, relocation and repair of damages had been fully undertaken. The maximum tolerable period of disruption usually depends on the level of damage caused by a particular incident; it is also determined by the organizations financial capacity in handling the disruption. Time Recovery objectives Organizations develop certain plans in order to resume or recover their operations back to normal. It is however sometimes difficulty to determine what returning back to normal looks like, until after along period after the occurrence of a particular incident. It is important to ensure that that the business continuity plan is able to extend its operations by giving the time line for normal recovery. For instance there was a period when the Boots Pharmaceutical Company was experiencing financial losses, that is the earnings of the business were deteriorating without any sort of growth. However after the business opened its website, that gave customers more information about the current operations of the business, the pharmacy begun to recapture its original performance in a very short period of time. It is therefore important to take note of the fact that with an effective business continuity plan, the level of recovery from a particular disruption can actually be very fast if well undertaken. Critical Dependencies Critical dependencies perform the role of supporting the critical activities of an organization. There is need to understand the fact that in case of any disruption critical dependencies can be greatly affected. The critical dependencies of the Boots organization include various necessities which ensure that the operations of the organization are effective they include People like; opticians, shop assistants, Pharmacies, delivery drivers and the administration staff. Premises are also very vital they include administrative centres, stores and warehouses Information technology department performs functions such as ordering stocks and general communication in the organization. Critical suppliers, the major supplies for the Boots business include drug suppliers and fuel suppliers for vehicles Vehicles which majorly are for the purpose of delivering the products to various branches of the business. . Strategies for Maintaining Critical Activities/Dependencies For every critical dependency highlighted above, it is necessary to monitor and give a report concerning how each dependency operates as follows; Strategies for people Boots Pharmacy should identify strategies that are suitable for maintaining core knowledge and skills. This particular achievement should expand beyond stakeholders, specialists and constructors these strategies involve; Documentation of how activities are performed A workforce that is multi-skilled is also vital due to the fact that they can handle varied tasks. Knowledge of management and retention The use of a third party is also necessary for instance incase the existing workforce is not available A succession plan is also very much necessary or the work force Premises Strategies The organization should ensure that its work sites are not limited, therefore the following strategies can be devised; Home working Remote working Alternative place for working given by a third party specialist Substitute premises offered by another organization Alternative and additional premises inside the organization Strategies for technology Outdoor provision The technology should be effective in remote areas Ensuring that the infrastructure is resilient through establishing a back up system Making the infrastructure resilient through back up systems Strategies for Suppliers/Stakeholder Stock levels handed in on time Ensuring that the supplies maintain the robust BCP’S Improving contractual agreements and service levels Stock pilling Raising the number of suppliers for the organization Procedures for maintain the relationship with of stakeholders should be well formulated Monitoring and Reporting of Critical Dependency Boots Pharmacy has experienced disruptions in various incidences which have impacted the critical dependencies for the organization. Boots Pharmacy lost one of its departments due to fire attacks. Another incident that disrupted the organizations functions was the disruption of the IT department due to virus attacks that affected the data system of the organization. The aspect of responding to emergencies and trying to recover from those emergencies is commonly linked to the main aim of restoring normality which should carry on simultaneously as part of the whole business continuity plan. Realistically the two activities should be undertaken parallel from the onset however it demands for group response (Moh Heng 2006). The action plan must be followed when an emergency occurs as indicated by the following steps ; Action 1: The emergency is defined, in order to make clarification of the action plan to be undertaken. For instance if the emergency is a fire out break, the action taken will not be similar to responding to terrorist attacks Action 2: Establishment of the relationship between the aspect of responding to an emergency and the efforts of recovery that are used to ensure that normality returns to the organization, within the earliest time possible. Action 3: Activation of the Business continuity plan Action 4: Adopt a suitable BCP plan whereby dependencies that have been degraded should be upgraded by the plan. In reference to the business continuity plan, it is important for the organization to carry out risk assessment. One of the essential aspects of this particular process is that the risk level should be effectively examined and evaluated on basis of the organizations critical activities. As indicated earlier, the critical activities of the organization are supported by the business resources such as premises, technology, people and information. The organization should find mechanisms of ensuring that these particular resources are not at a very vulnerable state due to the fact that they support the critical activities of the organization. This can best be done through the risk assessment process. Plan Invocation Arrangements This plan entails aspects of incident management, business recovery or essentially what is referred to as business continuity. The plan should kick off in the shortest time possible. The plan is initiated by the authorities after the organization has developed a document with a well stated criteria and clear guidelines. This means that the organization should be prepared with an already existing business continuity plan as a strategy of preparedness. People are contacted through mobilization with a basic aim of providing precise and clear information (Robert 2007). If any particular emergency arises, the crisis planning group is immediately contacted. The team acts in response within the regulations of the incident management. The organization should identify or locate a particular predetermined and robust location such as space or room was the incident will be managed. Once the place is identified it should act as a focal point were the organization will utilize for response. The team reacts or responds by distribution key information, assigning tasks, managing resources, identifying and tracking issues and making certain that communication is efficient, this is because without effective communication, the invocation process can be deterred. The process of plan invocation involves several important steps Making a clear description of a documented procedure which will be used for invoking plan in key areas were the critical activities have been threatened Identification of an individual in the organization has the power to determine if an emergency has occurred or not A specification of the procedure to be adopted in then adopted Specification of the individual to be consulted before the adoption indicate the person who should be up-dated once the once the decision is taken Generic Response Arrangements for Managing Disruption The response arrangements for managing disruptions should involve training exercises for the workforce this will assist them in being effectively informed on how to react and deal with emergencies. Training is also essential because the workforce is familiarized with the content of the plan, furthermore they get information concerning their role in the implementation of the business continuity plan (Michael& Lawrence 2004), It is also vital to publish the plan, if the plan is not actively integrated as part of the essential components of organizations documents or data then it will not be of any significance, it is thus necessary to publish the plan for future reference. It is also crucial to make a review of the document used for the incident management plan. The management should further read through the newly reviewed document and ensure that it is well stated and controlled. The specific areas that should be reviewed in the plan include the aspect of risk assessment, responsibilities of the personnel and the general response structure of the plan. Another important Generic Response Arrangements for Managing Disruption involves the aspect of testing the business continuity plan. Testing is important because the BCP can not be perceived as reliable unless it is tested. The requirements of the 2005 contingency plan advocate that the plan should be subjected to testing in order to have certainty that it is effective. 1 Embedding the Plan In order for the organization to develop reliance and the ability to tackle threats against the business effectively, it is vital for the organization to set up the plan within its culture, this can be aided through appraisals, incorporation of the plan within the company’s bulletins and team briefs (Moh Heng 2006). Embedding the plan entails the clear description of the duties and roles of each stakeholder in ensuring that the plan becomes more practical and of benefit to the organizations preparedness. Embedding the culture of BCM within an organization is a form of guarantee that the activity of managing the business continuity Plan becomes part of the core values of successful management within the organization (BSI 2006). Conclusion The integration of the business continuity plan is very much essential in the running of the Boots Pharmaceutical Company , these will assist the organization be much more prepared in terms of tackling disruptions that may affect the normal functioning of the business. The most essential recommendation is that the plan should be frequently updated and reviewed in order to ensure that it remains current. The plan should actually be a standing agenda for the business whereby various departmental meetings should be frequently made in order to review the document. Through maintain an effective business continuity plan the organization can be able to develop reliance of having capacity to handle threats that may disrupt its proper functioning. The main function of the plan is to assist the business to return to normalcy in the shortest time possible after being disrupted. Bibliography Britton, N, 1988, "Boots Treads Carefully," Marketing, May 26, p. 22. Buckley, N, 1994,"Divide and Thrive at Boots," Financial Times, July 4, p. 12. British Standards Institution (BSI), 2006, BSI Publication, U.K. Business Continuity and British Standards, 2005, Continuity Forum Hollinger, P, 1996, “Boots Back on International Stage," Financial Times, October 11, 1996, p. 24. Doughty, K, 2001, Business continuity planning: protecting your organization's life, Oxford University, London. Michael W& Lawrence W, 2004, The disaster recovery handbook: a step-by-step plan to ensure, Business safety, Sage, New York. Moh Heng, G, 2006, Testing & exercising your business continuity plan, Macmillan, London. The Civil Contingencies Act, 2005, TSO, London. Robert, J, 2007, Business Continuity Planning: From Writing to Testing, University of Rochester. , Read More