Business Continuity Planning - Term Paper Example

BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANNING by Student’s name Code+ course name Professor’s name University name City, State Date Table of contents Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………….3 Political factors associated with managing the public sector organization………………………3 The social factors affecting the managing of the organizations in the public sector……………..5 The economic factors affecting the organizations operating in the public sector…………………6 The impact of risk management on the operations of the public sector organizations in pursuit of their statutory duties and responsibilities…………………………………………………………7 Benefits of performance management within the fire department……………………………….10 The benefits of change management within the fire department………………………………...10 The benefits of leadership within the fire department…………………………………………...11 The benefits of strategic planning within an organization………………………………………12 Business continuity plan for Coles………………………………………………………..…….12 Reference list…………………………………………………………………………………….15 Introduction Managing a public sector organization is, arguably, the most difficult part of achieving success. Unlike private sector organizations, the public sector is characterized by little motivation as the activities of such organizations are not goal oriented. Typically, the major reason as to why the organizations in the public sector do not perform well is because the managers and employees do not have a sense of affiliation as is the case in the private sector. Fundamentally, the major difference between the private and the public segment is the fact that the administration has too much influence in the public sector organization (Wirick 2009). Additionally, there are many political economic and social factors affecting the public sector organization. Arguably, the political systems of a nation have little influence on the management of the private firms, especially the small firms. On the contrary the political makeup of the country determines to a great extent the management of the public sector organization. This essay endeavors to explain the various ways in which the political, social and economic factors affect the managing of public sector organizations. Additionally, the paper will endeavor to explain the relationship between risk management and resilience in the context of the public sector organization. This may as well include the preparation of a business continuity plan, for a large organization, as a way of signifying the significance of the same in maintaining resilience. Political factors associated with managing the public sector organization Political factors are an inherent part of any civilized society. Apparently, the organizations operating within a certain society are affected, either favorably r adversely by the political factors. In straightforward terms, political systems of the society within which an organization operates affect the policy making and leadership of the company or whichever organization is under consideration. Organizations in the public sector are essentially meant to serve the citizenry. As such, politics, being the component concerned with the will of the people, interferes in one way or another. Perhaps one of the political factors impacting on a business or public sector organization is the aspect of political sabotage (Sinha 2003). Political sabotage refers to the efforts, however malicious, of some political block to have more influence in a public sector organization than the other block. Typically, one side has to lose. In the event that apolitical alignment has lost the quest for control, it may endeavor to bring down the operations of the organization. Such sabotage is among the negative effects of political involvement in the running and management of an organization. The second political factor that influences the managing of public corporations is the issue of legal political changes. Worth noting at this juncture is the actuality that the law is both part and a result of the political systems. The political systems are the same structures responsible for the creation of the legislature. The laws made may affect the organization either favorably or adversely. Apparently, a law passed to lower the drinking age to 16 down from 18 will definitely have a positive impact on the organization as the management will be in a position to report higher profits following higher sales and penetration of new markets. Apparently, the public sector organizations are the most adversely affected (Sims 2010). The third factor affecting the managing and running public sector organizations is the aspect of political appointments. In both the developed and the developing nations, the directors and CEOs of the organizations are appointed by the president or minister of the ministry in question. Such appointments are sometimes so political that they tend to ignore the aspects of competence and technocracy. This is among the key reasons why organizations fail. Talking of politics, corruption is an inevitable evil. Corrupt institutions and powerful bigwigs may influence the process of managing the organizations in the public sector, to an extent that corruption causes the embezzlement of funds and misappropriation of resources in such a way that malicious interests are met. Arguably, corruption is the major cause of the deaths of the various public sector organizations in the developed nations as well as in the banana republics. Corruption in the public sector may take many forms. The first and most common form of corruption may be the manipulation of objectivity to ensure the appointment of an individual to the managerial team of an organization (Lægreid 2010). The second type of malice is the use of such persons to pilfer the funds and resources of the public sector organization. Government policies are another noteworthy factor that affects the running of the organizations in the public sector. Such policies may be in favor of the organizations in one sector and prove to be unfavorable for organizations in other sectors. For instance the taxation policy of may be in such a way that it affects the public organizations in the agricultural sector differently from the way it impacts on the organizations in the industrial sector. The social factors affecting the managing of the organizations in the public sector Apparently, an organization, whether public or private, cannot operate in isolation. In other words, the organization must, in one way or another, interact with the society within which it operates. An organization gets its resources from the surrounding. The community in such surrounding forms the society of the organization in the sense that it is from this same community that the organization will fetch its human resources (Wirick 2009). Apparently, the culture of the organization will reflect the culture of the people around. For instance, if an organization is operating within an Islamic society, it is a matter of common knowledge that the employees will not be expected to be on duty all day on Friday. Being their day of worship, they will demand to be granted their freedom of worship. As such, the organization will have to restructure its systems in such a way that the working days are altered. Another factor that may affect the manner in which organizations in the public sector operate is the aspect of corporate social responsibility. This is a concept that entails the involvement of an organization, public or private, in the welfare of the community. The concept is of such nature that an organization should contribute significantly to the welfare of the entire organization, without expecting much in return. Such things may include the decision of a public sector organization to construct a school or a hospital, for example. Such activities can derail the development of the organization as they tend to divert the attention of the managers from the objectives of the concern to the social involvement of the organization (Lane 2000). Further, there are complications occasioned by such decisions as the public sector service to the citizenry and CSR. Typically, the public sector organizations are meant to serve the citizenry. It becomes more complicated when such public sector organizations are again required to be part of the social development process. The social place of the genders is a critical factor as far as the human resources component of an organization is concerned. For instance, in some societies, the law demands that there be an equal employment opportunity with regard to gender. The laws may demand that the number of male employees should, at all times, be equivalent to the number of employees in the public sector organization. This may be a cause for inconveniences as it may bring in an aspect of incompetence with the organization seeking to meet the social demands of the people in the community (Koehler 2004). Other social factors include such things as education levels in the community, unemployment as well as religion and customs. The economic factors affecting the organizations operating in the public sector Apparently, public sector accounting is the most complicated function the management of the big public organizations has to execute. While such accounting may be something easy in the private sector, appropriating resources in the public sector could be quite taxing, considering that such public sector business concerns are physically fragmented with each regional manager having limited discretionary powers (Halachmi 2006). The autonomy of the branches may be of such nature that it limits the chances of organizational success. Such economic concepts as inflation impact on the public segment more than the private division for the simple reason that the public sector organizations are among the tools used to achieve economic stability during the times of such things as inflation and economic depression. Economic depressions and recessions are serious setbacks, not only to the management of the organizations in the public sector, but also the economy as a whole. Infrastructure, being among the building blocks of the economy is among the principal factors that may affect the management of the public sector organizations. Apparently, public organizations, much like the private organizations, rely heavily on the infrastructure of a country. The extent to which management spends is determined by the much such the infrastructure, such as the road network is effectively networked. Interest rates can as well be termed as the key determinants of public sector organization funding. Apparently, the public sector is funded by the government; however, the extent to which the public sector can be funded is limited (Golembiewski & Kiepper 2008). This means that they have to work with leverage. Leverage is the extent to which an organization employs debt in its capital structure. The degree of leverage is a function of interest rates and the asset base of the organization. During the great depression for example, the public sector organizations faced a serious downfall. This was not at all the case with the private sector organization. The impact of risk management on the operations of the public sector organizations in pursuit of their statutory duties and responsibilities Risk management is a multi-step process, which concerns itself with the, the identification, analysis, interpretation and mitigation of uncertainties. Risks have been described variously as unforeseen disturbances within an organization, occasioned by events within or without the organization. In most cases, the risks that an organization is bound to face originate from outside the organization. The causes of such risks are usually, things that the organization has no control over (Fone & Young 2001). The risks that are likely to face an organization are of many types. The risks could be of financial, physical as well as non-monetary. Physical risks include such things as fire, earthquakes, and floods and so on. The financial risks may include such things as financial distress as well as bad debts. On the other hand, there are those risks and uncertainties that can be described as risks of nonmonetary nature. Such include high turnover in the human resources department. There are many measures that can be used to handle the risks and projected problems. One such measure is contingency planning. Another one is the installation of an effective backup system. Apparently, the organization will chose that technique and measure that appears to suit its needs. Even so, risk management has similar impacts in all organizations irrespective of the measures each organization employs. The first impacts of risk management on the operations of the public sector organizations is the fact that such a practice will trigger compelled planning. This may mean that an organization will plan things that would not have been planned in the normal circumstances. Such things include contingency planning. Contingency plans are alternative options available to all functions of the organization. These will enable an organization remain resilient after a certain risk has occurred and affected the organization negatively. Contingency plans are part of the useful backup systems. Apparently, every organization is required by its shareholders and other stakeholders to continue operating as a going concern for the foreseeable future (Estall 2012). Without planning for risks, the organization may emerge as a total failure. One of the main examples of planning in the financial section of any organization is the maintaining of reserves. Such reserves can always be used in the event that the normal sources of capital are, for some reasons, no longer available. Another impact of risk management on the organizations in the public domain is the actuality that such an organization will likely be resilient within the foreseeable future. Such resilience will come as a result of adequate resources and emergency measures that can help an organization get back on its knees in the event that a serious disturbance has hit the organization. Additionally, risk management can help an organization be capable of quick response. In the public sector, organizations are faced with unforeseen changes (Easterby-Smith 2001). Dealing with such changes calls for foresight, and the capacity to plan ahead. The organization can only be capable of planning ahead if and only if it has meticulous risk management functions within its systems. The impacts of the risk management policies and procedures on the organization are of such nature that they can enable an organization an organization embrace compliance since noncompliance is one of the risks that can land the organization in problems. In general, risk management helps an organization maintain continuity through the effective use of resources. Effective use of resources, coupled with information security and continuous improvement can give an organization comparative advantage. Such advantage, if utilized well by the strategic managers is likely to foster good performance and deliverance of services to the citizenry. This may give the particular organization bargaining power with regard to governmental allocations of funds and resources. Risk management is the most effective way of achieving resilience within the organization. In straightforward terms, the organization will be assured of continuous improvement and a going-concern status since the risk management system, which supposedly has a feedback system will enable the organization handle or prepare itself to handle changes effectively (DHiles 2011). As part of risk management, the organization will have its information backed up. This will keep the important documents and recordings safe and secure. Back up data is of exceptional importance as it is the backbone of organizational continuity. A failed organization in the public organization is a huge liability to the government and all other stakeholders. Benefits of performance management within the fire department Performance management refers to a management practice that entails result oriented evaluation. Performance management concerns itself with such things evaluation of the extent to which an organization has achieved its goals. Performance management, in such an organization as the fire department can be carried out in sections or on individuals. The evaluation, however, is better carried out at section level since the fire personnel cannot work independently (Carnevale 2003). The fire fighters are classified into various groups which are entrusted with particular duties. The fire department can be said to be an organization that is made up of heterogeneous teams. For instance, there are such teams as the fire fighters, the quick response team, and the evacuation team and so on. The concept of performance management is a one that ensures that the employees are motivated. The employee that is evaluated and found to have met goals is rewarded. This may be an important source of motivation. Additionally, performance management can help the fire department achieve improved controls due to continuous monitoring. The benefits of change management within the fire department Change management is a concept that concerns itself with the introduction of change within an organization. Apparently, any organization that is not ready to embrace change is doomed to extinction. The major reason as to why this is so is because the world, due to globalization, is changing at a very high rate. This means that the organizations, people and all other parties operating in it are changing. In straightforward terms, change is inevitable. However, the people within an organization have a tendency to resist change (Blyth 2009). This derails the performance and development of the organization. Change management therefore becomes an exceptionally important concept as it reduces resistance to change and upholds continuous improvement. It is only through such a concept as change management that an organization can achieve such things as advanced technology and total quality management. The benefits of leadership within the fire department Many are times when the tern leadership has been interchanged with the term management. Typically, the terms manager and leader are used in the same breath as if they are synonyms of each other. On the contrary, however, the two terms are substantially different. Apparently, a manager is an individual that is out to maintain the status quo. On the other hand, the leader is an individual who is out to challenge the status quo. The major reason behind this definition of a leader is the actuality that a leader has a longer decision making horizon compared to a manager (Abu-Bakr 2013). A manager is opposed to change, while a leader seeks to transform the organization into being a better place. Apparently, leaders take a people oriented approach to decision making. On the contrary, managers take a systems-oriented approach to decision making. As such, managers are bureaucratic people while the leaders are flexible and open to new ideas. From these differences, it is rather obvious that leadership within an organization will come with quite a number of changes. The changes are positive and work for the improvement of the organization. Among such benefits are such things as better decision making, flexibility, long term planning, change management and people oriented management and so on. The benefits of strategic planning within an organization Strategic planning concerns itself with laying down long term goals, and means of achieving such goals. Strategic planning for instance, may concern itself with the introduction of such things as modern technology as well as novel ways of handling things (Dellar & Wieczorek 2002). Within the fire department, strategic planning may entail such things as the introduction of novel methods of handling emergencies as a way of making the department resilient and relevant. For instance, strategic planning managers are entrusted with the responsibility of determining the long term needs of the department. This may entail such things as appropriate personnel training, acquisition of modern technology as well as the corporate restructuring activities that may seem relevant at a given time. Strategic planning, coupled with proper leadership, is among the most effectual ways of having an organization keep abreast with the times. Business continuity plan for Coles Coles, one of the biggest retailers in Australia is a business corporation that has a wide branch network. The critical service of the organization is delivery of goods and services to the consumers. Arguably the biggest retailer, the business has to a great extent diversified risks in its profile. The organization serves the last consumer in the production chain as it is a retail business. Even so, the business does not only serve the households but also other businesses that endeavor to break bulk the further. Apparently the major deliverables in the context of Coles supermarkets include the customers and the employees. The major reason as to why this is so is because the organization’s style of management is a people oriented approach. The organization has invested a lot into maintaining and motivating its human resources with an aim of achieving consumer loyalty and quality services. As part of the business continuity plan, the organization endeavors to protect the employees as part of meeting its long term objectives. This, in the view of the most prominent business gurus, can only be achieved through endeavoring to mitigate the risks that the employees are exposed to. Among the principal threats to the key deliverables include such things as injury at the workplace and such things as fire outbreaks and entrapment in a building. Being a business corporation, Coles is bound to face various problems that may disrupt the normal business operations. As such, it becomes necessary for the management to develop a business continuity plan that may get the organization operating normally after recovering from such a hitch. The probability that the plan will work should be based on how extensive the plan’s coverage is. Apparently, the recovery plan should cover such things as insurance and risk management. The risk control measures to be employed should be strong enough as to cover business impact analysis which identifies critical objectives and critical dependencies with clear justifications using an acceptable risk assessment methodology for prioritizing risk, a workable methodology for monitoring critical dependencies, effective strategies for recovering and maintaining critical dependences, identification of appropriate constituent members for the formation of a crisis planning team under varying circumstances and effective methodology for triggering the plan. The major elements of the plan, which is represented in the diagrams should include: 1. Emergency authorization procedures 2. Insurance 3. Security 4. Public relations 5. Vital records recovery 6. Recovery of electronics The planning cycle to be followed is represented as in the diagram below. The plan’s formation and design or structure can be represented as: To ensure the business continuity plan takes effect, the management should take a number of steps including but not limited to such efforts as insurance and back up schemes. After drawing the business continuity plan, which essentially, is meant to reduce all risks that relate to inventory and the human resources, it will be embedded into the organization’s structures through a number of ways. Apparently, the most prominent way through which such embedding will take place is through the creation of a team that will handle and coordinate the implementation of the plan. This may mean that the organization reaches out to gurus and experts in the field of risk management. The organization will definitely need such consultancy services as those of the business management and continuity planners. As a way of mitigating the chances of losing data related to human resources and inventory, the organization will use such things as cloud computing, this cannot be affected by physical perils. Reference list Abu-Bakr, A. J. 2013. Managing Disasters through Public-Private Partnerships. Washington, Dc, Georgetown University Press. Blyth, M. 2009. Business Continuity Management Building An Effective Incident Management Plan. Hoboken, N.J., J. Wiley & Sons. Carnevale, D. G. 2003. Organizational Development In The Public Sector. Boulder, Colo, West view Press. Dellar, B., & Wieczorek, M. 2002. Business Continuity: It Risk Management for International Corporations. Berlin [U.A.], Springer. DHiles, A. 2011. The Definitive Handbook of Business Continuity Management. Hoboken, N.J., Wiley Easterby-Smith, M. 2001. Organizational Learning and the Learning Organization: Developments in Theory and Practice. London [U.A.], SAGE. Estall, H. 2012. Business Continuity Management Systems: Implementation and Certification to ISO 22301. [S.L.], British Informatics Socie. Fone, M., & Young, P. C. 2001. Public Sector Risk Management. Oxford, Butterworth-Heinemann Golembiewski, R. T., & Kiepper, A. 2008. High Performance and Human Costs: A Public-Sector Model of Organizational Development. New York U.A, Praeger Halachmi, A. 2006. Organizational Performance and Measurement in the Public Sector. Westport, Conn. [U.A.], Quorum Books. Koehler, C. T. 2004. Public Sector Risk Management. Monticello, Ill, Vance Bibliographies. Lane, J.-E. 2000. The Public Sector: Concepts, Models and Approaches. London [U.A.], SAGE. Lægreid, P. 2010. Governance of Public Sector Organizations: Proliferation, Autonomy and Performance. Basingstoke [U.A.], Palgrave Macmillan. Sims, R. R. 2010. Change Transformation In Government Organizations. Charlotte, N.C., Information Age Pub Sinha, J. B. P. 2003. Some Problems of Public Sector Organizations. Delhi, National. Wirick, D. W. 2009. Public-Sector Project Management: Meeting the Challenges and Achieving Results. Hoboken, N.J., Wiley Read More