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The latest version of Continuity Central's peer-reviewed journal for the business continuity profession is now available.
The Journal contains the following:
Business continuity investment decisions: a survey to ascertain the causal factors
Author: Colin Lobley
Abstract: Despite many companies having experienced a range of disruptive events to their businesses, the level of investment in risk management remains poor. This research hypothesized that one such reason for this is that the decision on how much to invest in risk management is very difficult and that more research could be undertaken by the risk community to help in understanding this investment decision further.
This research identified that existing literature offers little in the way of evidential analysis to assist in answering the question of ‘how much should a company invest into risk management projects?’ Whilst appreciating that there is no definitive right answer to this question, this research set out to identify what, if any, trends and correlations exist between how much is invested in business continuity projects and a range of factors such as type of industry, type of strategy adopted, and turnover. In addition the findings provide evidence that some of the fundamentals that would inform a robust investment decision, such as financially quantifying the risk, are not undertaken, which to some extent contributes to the low level of investment that many companies make into business continuity management.
Has the BIA had its day?
Author: Kathleen Lucey
Abstract:The business impact analysis is a central element in the development of any business continuity plan and BC management program. If a BIA is conducted according to current standards, it will identify all resources needed to recover critical and other business functions; will state when those resources will be needed; and will map inter-function dependencies.
The BIA, as set out in modern business continuity guidelines and standards is an excellent tool if fully implemented. However due to the complexity and cost of conducting a comprehensive BIA, this very rarely happens in real-life. This being the case we, as a profession, need to ask the question “Is this the tool that best suits our mission to help businesses minimize the impact of disruptions to their operations?”
There are serious issues associated with how many businesses develop business continuity plans and the BIA is at the heart of the problem. This paper opens the discussion about why this is the case and aims to start a debate on how we can do better. It is meant to be only the beginning of the story, and not a definitive conclusion.
The adaptation of the Incident Command System by corporate America
Author: Dennis Morgan
Abstract : This paper provides background on the Incident Command System, the current status and use by all levels of government, and the fledgling use by corporate America. This paper will address the need for corporations to institute ICS as their framework for incident management team response to incidents and disasters. Additionally, it will address the basic four ICS divisions of Operations, Logistics, Finance and Planning will be realigned and how expansion of the IMT membership to include the additional ‘seats at the table’ required for corporate America will be addressed.
An ICS-based emergency response plan for a non-profit organization
Author: Raymond Hornung III
Abstract : The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) is a nonprofit organization established in 1986. It has grown from its initial goal of establishing a nationwide registry of potential donors to become the hub of an international Network of leading medical facilities. This case study describes how NMDP migrated from a vendor-developed crisis response plan to a new emergency response plan based on the Incident Command System.
The application of Monte-Carlo techniques to business continuity management
Author: Patrick Roberts
Abstract : Whilst other areas of risk management have developed sophisticated statistical techniques for assessing risks, the business continuity management profession still relies heavily on subjective judgements. This article examines whether one particular statistical technique – Monte-Carlo Simulation – can usefully be applied in the field of BCM. It appears from this examination that Monte-Carlo Simulation could be a very useful tool in modelling high-frequency low-impact disruptions such as power outages or common crime. However, the potential for applying it to low-frequency high-impact events such as floods and terrorist attacks is likely to be severely limited by the availability of relevant data.
Case study: the Glasgow Airport attack from a business continuity and crisis management point of view
Author: Gillies Crichton
Abstract: Glasgow Airport is owned and operated by BAA Ltd. Handling over 8. 8 million passengers a year; it is the busiest of the three BAA-owned Scottish Airports. Glasgow is situated in the west of Scotland with the airport some 7 miles to the west of the city centre near to the town of Paisley.
On 30 June 2007, the second busiest day of the year due to the school holidays commencing the previous day, Glasgow Airport became the target for a car bomb attack, which propelled the airport into the glare of the world’s media and created severe business continuity issues for the airport.
In line with BAA group requirements, Glasgow Airport has a fully functioning business continuity management (BCM) strategy. This came into its own during the incident and this case study details the attack and its repercussions, overviews the response and highlights the lessons learned.
Popular business continuity myths explored: part three
Author: Geary W.Sikich and John Stagl
Abstract : In the third and final of a series of papers; Geary W.Sikich and John Stagl explore four ‘business continuity myths’ and attempt to dispel incorrect assumptions and understandings concerning them. The first and second paper in this series were published in The Journal of Business Continuity, Volume Two Issue One and Volume Two Issue Two.
Research roundup
A brief summary of commercial and academic business continuity research that has been published between July 2007 and September 2007.
There are currently three versions of the Business Continuity Journal: a UK version; a North American version; and an international version.
Subscribers gain:
- Practical information as well as an academic journal
- Zero advertising or marketing: every page is relevant content
- Four new issues per year plus access to all previous issues and all versions of the Journal.
The Business Continuity Journal is available at the following rates depending on your preferred delivery method:
Delivery by e-mail (PDF) : £95 / $US 180 / 140 euro
CD via postal service : £145 / $US 275 / 210 euro
Printed copy via postal service: £195 / $US 370 / 285 euro
To subscribe visit http://www.businesscontinuityjournal.com or email subs@businesscontinuityjournal.com for more details.
•Date: 12th October 2007• Region: World •Type: Article •Topic: BC general
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