Tips for Writing Effective Problem and Goals Statement
Although the Six Sigma process has tried to make the process of developing problem and goal statements into a science, however in reality it still remains an art. This combined with the fact that goal and problem statements go a long way into the execution of the project make it important to understand what are […]
Enterprise Application Integration and Service Oriented Architecture
ERP represents a wide suite of applications covering various enterprise functionalities. It also links together departments and business units. Whereas an ERP system provides a perfect back end system, the organization still needs to interact and collaborate with its suppliers and vendors, where an ERP system plays only a limited role. Extended ERP: The business […]
Ageing Populations in the West and their Impact on Healthcare Management
Shock of Gray The term shock of gray refers to the phenomenon of the western societies having older people as a percentage of the total population than the younger people. in other words, the shock experienced by having more retirees and those over 70 years of age and the graying of the population are expected […]
The End of the Indian IT Sector
The Indian IT sector has been facing a lot of flak. The industry is undergoing a transformation. Issues like the availability of H1B visas and adapting to changing technology are at the forefront. The stocks of Indian IT behemoths have taken a beating. Employees are being laid off indiscriminately. All this signals towards the fact […]
The Shock of Gray and Its Implications for the Healthcare Sector
What is meant by the Shock of Gray and its Implications? The Shock of Gray is a term used to describe the ageing of the populations in the West with the retirement of the Baby Boomer generation and the resultant “graying” of the western societies. This phenomenon has several economic implications mainly related to the […]
Business continuity planning and management is an approach that companies adopt to protect themselves from unforeseen and high impact events. In recent years, Black Swan events or low probability high impact events that no one can foresee with accuracy have become common.
For instance, the collapse of the American Investment Bank, Lehmann Brothers in September 2008 was a major event that precipitated a near meltdown of the financial system. Similarly, the Fukushima Nuclear Plant disaster following the Japanese Tsunami of March 2011 was another such event that took everyone by surprise. Hence, the clear implications of these and other similar events is that companies and individuals must be prepared for such events that threaten their very existence.
The key aspect here is that such events used to happen in earlier decades as well. However, given the rapid integration of the global economy, the impact of such events has been magnified several times leading to systemic threats and systemic risks. In this context, it is important more than ever for companies and individuals to be on the lookout for such systemic threats to their existence.
We all know how the relentless 24/7 news cycle and the breaking news phenomenon have amplified the impact of events that happen half a world away but nonetheless cause damage to faraway places.
The point to be noted is that as globalization helped companies and individuals reach out to a global consumer base and global news audience, it has also increased the exposure of companies and individuals to happenings all over the world. This is more the reason why companies and individuals must be prepared to deal with global events that cause local impact and the intersection of a global event and the local impact that it brings has to be planned for and guarded against.
For instance, companies that are publicly listed have to ensure that their exposure to global risks is quantified and accounted for. Otherwise, happenings in one corner of the world would have an impact on their stock prices and the market capitalization of such companies.
Apart from this, companies have to be prepared for tail risks that are the leftover risks from such systemic threats.
For instance, Ranbaxy has been fined for adulteration of medicines in the United States. The cascading effect of such an event has been felt in India and across the world where hospitals and pharmacies are advising against buying their medicines.
Though the fact that its drugs might be adulterated in India as well, the key aspect here is that in a globalized world, happenings in one corner of the world affect global companies elsewhere as well.
Further, companies must be prepared to deal with manmade and natural disasters at the same time.
Astute business continuity planning and management can serve to minimize and mitigate the risk from such events.
For instance, many multinational companies have backup locations or off sites in secondary cities so that employees can be taken there and business restored in the shortest time possible.
There is the other aspect of companies having data centers and software backups in secondary locations so that in the event of a disaster, data can be restored, business up, and running.
Finally, it is the prerogative of companies to mitigate themselves against systemic risks. However, in recent months, even regulators are advising companies to have foolproof backup plans so that in case of systemic risks, they are well prepared and planned for. This is the case with many financial institutions that have been asked by the market regulators to keep the documents and artifacts safe and secure and to protect consumer data and records so that any systemic event does not render the data inaccessible.
In conclusion, in this 24/7 global age, all of us are vulnerable to systemic risks and hence, safe and secure planning for unanticipated events must be done so that the downsides of such risks are mitigated.
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Business Continuity Management Planning around the World
February 12, 2025
