Business Continuity Planning for Risk Reduction

The paper outlines the business continuity planning as a methodology that could be used by organizations in order to reduce the risks that occur both at the organizational level and in its outside environment. There are presented the main objectives and steps in business continuity planning process. In the end of the paper are presented some issues that organizations should take into consideration in the implementation of business continuity planning process projects.business continuity planning, business impact analysis, risk assessment, risk management, risk monitoring

Supply chain involvement in business continuity management: effects on reputational and operational damage containment from supply chain disruptions

Purpose Does internal integration extend to business continuity and to managing supply chain disruptions (SCDs)? Despite the voluminous literature on supply chain integration, evidence on its effectiveness on risk management and disruption response is scant. The purpose of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of business continuity management (BCM) and of supply chain involvement in BCM (SCiBCM) on reputational and operational damage containment in the face of SCDs. Design/methodology/approach This study draws on Simons’ Levers of Control framework to explain how the involvement of supply chain in BCM affects firm capabilities in containing damages caused by major SCDs. The authors develop and test hypotheses by analyzing large-scale questionnaire responses from 448 European companies. Findings Results of the data analysis suggest that BCM improves reputational damage containment, whereas SCiBCM improves operational damage containment. The findings also show that the significant effects of BCM and SCiBCM on reputational and operational damage containment, respectively, were amplified for the firms facing higher supply chain vulnerability. Post-hoc analysis further reveals the complementarity effect between BCM and SCiBCM for the companies exposed to high supply chain vulnerability. Originality/value Evidence on the effects of BCM and its internal integration on performance is limited. This study offers empirical evidence on the topic. Also, while supply chain integration can improve information sharing and coordination, some may not fully recognize its potential benefits in addressing SCDs. This study theoretically and empirically demonstrates the role played by internal integration, in the form of SCiBCM, in improving organizational damage containment efforts

Business Continuity Management

This article views Business Continuity Management as a progression from more traditional Disaster Recovery Planning. While recovery presupposes an event that causes a failure, continuity suggests the avoidance, or at least minimizing, the impact of a failure. Business Continuity Management is not just about Information Systems. Rather it is about ensuring that the critical business functions can continue. Business Continuity Management is a process not an event and should deal with any threat that could affect the business. For many organizations reliant on sophisticated Information Technology, adequate Business Continuity Management is a basic requirement

The Strategic Effect of Crisis Management on Business Continuity Management in Corporate Organizations: A Case of Equitol Bank, Kenya

Corporate organizations today require a robust understanding of business continuity and they need to draw a wide plan on how they can deal with unexpected crises which hamper organizational success efforts and operational continuity. Corporate image, reputation, brand, trust and loyalty of all stakeholders in a corporate entity are key factors in the background of business continuity. An efficient and effective business continuity management plan is important for any corporate organization as it ensures information availability and that corporate organizations survive and continue to operate uninterrupted in the event of any crises that the organization may face. Business Continuity Management (BCM) aims at ensuring that the organization survives in the long run and as such it should be a key responsibility of senior management. Organizations need to be adequately prepared for any unexpected events which could interrupt the way they operate and their survival chances in both short and long run. Thus, this paper sought to examine the effect of crisis management on Business Continuity Management in Corporate organizations. The study adopted a case study design and was performed at Equitol Bank.  A sample of 60 respondents from a target population of 200 staff members was obtained using stratified random sampling technique. Questionnaire and document analysis were the main tools of data collection for the study. Data coding and analysis was done using qualitative and quantitative methods. Descriptive statistics such as means, and cumulative frequencies were employed in summarizing data. Chi-square correlation coefficient was computed to establish the level of significance of correlation between BCM and business continuity and BCM and crisis management). The study found that there is a positive and significant correlation between BCM and business continuity represented by (?2 (58) =59.87, p < .05), and BCM and crisis management (?2 (58) =67.065, p < .05). Keywords: Business Continuity, Business Continuity Management, Corporate Organizations, Crisis Managemen

Factors influencing business continuity readiness of the Western Cape government

Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2020The research was focused on business continuity management as a key discipline towards building a resilient Western Cape Government. It provided an opportunity to identify existing business continuity processes to determine the level of preparedness of the Western Cape Government to ensure continued business due to a disruption. The inability of the public sector to manage and facilitate sound business continuity processes in anticipation of disruptive events have placed it in a position where it would be unable to deliver services to citizens and stakeholders. As the current business environment was continuously evolving, Government as an organization was therefore not immune to change and disruption, whether generated internally or externally. For government to be resilient it required the holistic management of risk but also the ability to adapt and respond to change with a limited impact on the delivery of services. Business Continuity was the core to building and improving organizational resilience. It had been a proven methodology that organizations should embrace as part of a holistic approach to the management of risks and threats. Legislation and/or policies have been drafted for the public sector to guide with the management of risks. As an organ of state and part of the public sector the Western Cape Government was therefore obliged to manage risks in a way that ensured that government was able to continue to render a service both internally and externally with as little impact as possible. Business continuity management identified the priorities of an organization as well as prepared solutions to address disruptive threats. The aim of the study was the exploration of the state of business continuity within the Western Cape Government. The objectives of the study were to: Identify current business continuity processes; Evaluate current business continuity processes; Critically analyse existing business continuity documentation; and Identify the links between business continuity and resilience. The research questions were focused on getting departments to express how business continuity was facilitated; clarity in respect of processes; input source of business continuity documentation; as well as determining whether departments acknowledged the benefits of having business continuity management towards building a resilient Western Cape Government. Previous work reinforced the importance of having sound business continuity processes in place. From the literature it would appear that business continuity in the public sector was fairly new and developmental in nature. Previous work also recognized that each and every organization was unique and as such the process should be aligned with the core functions and/or mandates afforded by legislation and/or policies. The research approach deemed most appropriate for this particular study was the Interpretivist approach. Not only was this approach value laden but it allowed for the exploration of the theory and obtaining of rich in-depth data from the participants. It also allowed for the contextualization of the problem as it related to the business continuity processes within the Western Cape Government. The research method was qualitative using interviews and document analysis as the most suited research instruments to elicit qualitative data required to render the research process as valid. It was concluded that having sound business continuity processes in place would greatly support organizations with the management of disruptions. Business continuity should be a proactive plan to avoid and mitigate risk associated with disruption of operations and needed to be managed in a way that objectives were met. Further to this it should be noted that the resilience maturity of the Western Cape Government remained reactive and concerted efforts towards becoming proactive should be considered

Effect of Business Continuity Management Practices on Organizational Performance among Security Firms in Nairobi County, Kenya

Security companies in Kenya have adopted Business Continuity Management (BCM) practices in an effort to ensure continuity of business operations. Organizational performance is crucial and BCM is one of the key driving forces to strengthen a firm’s ability to withstand risks and survive under extreme organizational and environmental pressures. Security companies in Kenya are operating in a rapidly changing environment, increased competition, advanced technology and increase regulations governing security firms that have affected the operations of private security companies. Despite security companies in Kenya adopting Business continuity Management practices, the extent to which BCM practices contribute to company performance has not sufficiently been empirically studied. The general objective of the study was to determine the influence of Business Continuity Management practices on organizational performance in security firms in Nairobi City County Kenya. The study findings showed that the performance of security companies in Nairobi is influence by the level of support of top management, planning for the business continuity and allocation of sufficient resources. Hence need for a clearly outlined BCM strategy within the strategic plan to form the basis of business performance and long health of the firms. Keywords: Business Continuity Management, Organizational Performance, Security Firm

Developing a Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plan: Kenya State Organizations

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery planning are one of the crucial constituents in a business organization but ignored mostly. Data relatively without any assistance has become an important factor to success in organizations. Using massive databases, organizations can make necessary prudential and active resolution giving them an aggressive edge in the global market. Organizations are now successful with their businesses only if they can deploy a proper business continuity and a disaster recovery plan which depends largely on the organization’s knowledge and understanding over different disciplines of disasters such as human errors, software failures, hardware failures, and natural disasters. This study mainly gives us an idea about various business continuity and disaster recovery mechanisms of Class A parastatals government agencies. Here are survey results from various low-level and high-level government employees of Kenya with certain questionnaires for which we have statistical data and provide few proposals of how Class A parastatals in Kenya can improvise in designing and deploying a disaster recovery plan which will help in business continuity and quicker recovery whenever they face a disaster

ICT readiness for business continuity in local government

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has evolved into a pervasive commodity in modern enterprises. ICT enables enterprises, regardless of sector, to achieve their strategic objectives. Similarly, ICT is regarded as a critical enabler in South African municipalities to reach their objectives and ultimately deliver sustainable services to their communities. This dependence on ICT, therefore, necessitates a resilient ICT environment where minimal disruption to ICT is a primary goal. Unfortunately, as reported by the Auditor-General of South Africa, the majority of South African municipalities are neglecting to address the continuity of their ICT services. Failing to implement adequate ICT continuity controls restrict these municipalities from achieving their strategic goals and, as a result, fulfilling their constitutional mandate of service delivery. It is, therefore, the objective of this study to devise a method, consisting of a theoretical foundation and a supporting tool-set, to assist municipalities in addressing a real-world ICT continuity problem. This method aims to be scalable and usable within different municipalities, and be simplistic and comprehensible enough to implement. The theoretical foundation will introduce the concept of ICT Readiness for Business Continuity, based on the recommendations of international best practices and standards, for example, the ISO 27031 (2011) standard. Furthermore, by considering various challenges within local government, the tool-set will ultimately help municipalities to help themselves in this regard

Application of Computer Simulation Modeling to Evaluate Business Continuity Plans

Business continuity plans (BCP) help organizations plan for and withstand the occurrence of unexpected events that interrupt the normal operation of business. Managers typically develop several alternate plans to minimize the business impact of unexpected events. The problem for decision makers is that comparative evaluation of BCP is typically done using subjective judgments. This research uses a case study approach focusing on a single organization and a single business continuity application to propose the use of computer simulation as a tool for managers to identify and evaluate different BCP prior to committing resources. In the context of an insurance firm, a specific plan was evaluated using simulation methods. A simulation model was used to model the operational aspects of the call center in an insurance company. After the model was validated, it was used to answer questions about what-if scenarios. Results suggest that scenario analysis using simulated model enables managers to ask useful questions that can help evaluate the plan. Managers at the insurance company used the simulation model to determine the level of service required and evaluate business continuity strategies to achieve it