Business Continuity Management

Drawing from a social capital perspective, this paper explores sources of organisational resilience within a public–private partnership. Responding to persistent poor performance the UK Highways Agency, responsible for maintaining and developing the national road infrastructure introduced a collaborative approach to supplier management and engagement. Drawing from a case study of the Construction Management Framework (CMF), it is argued that the development of structural, cognitive and relational elements of social capital provides a fertile context for the emergence of organisational resilience. The CMF achieved significant performance improvement, adapting itself to the changing needs of the Highways Agency, and found ways to capture and use innovation, and provides an example of effective Business Continuity Management (BCM) practice in identifying and responding to threats and in building organisational resilience, safeguarding the interests of key stakeholders and value-creatin...

Never has the need for robust, resilient organizations been so evident as in recent times with more and more well-established, respected organizations becoming unstable or even perishing as a result of the global recession. Added to these challenging economic times we have the demands of managing increasingly complex organizations, which are often highly dependent on sophisticated Information Systems and technology. Perrow’s Normal Accident Theory (1994) points to the fact that “no matter how hard we try there will be serious accidents because of the interactive complexity”[1] of the organizations in which we work. The introduction of BS25999, the British Standard for business continuity management, draws on international good practice in this field and brings together a clear view of what should constitute effective business continuity management for organizations across all sectors. This has provided Business Continuity Managers with a benchmark against which this aspect of their ...

The aim of this paper is to discuss improvements for the Master in Sustainability Management of Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV), in order to incorporate the topic of disaster risk management (DRM). Considering the risks and opportunities that climate change -and more specifically extreme weather events that can lead to disasters -represent to business, it is essential that business schools help prepare managers to deal with this critical sustainability issue. Therefore, it is extremely important to include this topic in management education. Aiming to support companies to assess and address business risks and opportunities derived from climate change, the Business for Climate Platform (EPC) of the Center for Sustainability Studies (GVces) of FGV has developed a framework and a tool for business adaptation strategies for climate change and implemented them with seven large companies in Brazil. Thus, based on EPC's experience, the paper brings a proposal for the inclusion of DRM in the MSM's syllabi, through the lens of climate change adaptation.

This study investigates ISO 22301's role in enhancing business continuity and managing operational risks, particularly during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. It illustrates how the standard fosters resilience through structured risk identification, recovery planning, and stakeholder communication. Empirical data from European enterprises confirm that ISO 22301 implementation reduces disruption impacts and ensures service continuity. The paper's key contribution is its cross-sectoral analysis and strategic integration framework that aligns ISO 22301 with ISO 9001 for maximum impact.

Iran is affected by the earthquake at a very high level, and it stands after China, India and Bangladesh. Although an earthquake is not a predictable, developed society can reduce its impacts by appropriate management and programming. So it is important to present a model which is organized and inclusive and can show the relationship between effective factors to reduce unwanted effects. This research used Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) to present a model which can explain the relationship between effective factors to control and reduce the damages of an earthquake. In this research, quantitative and qualitative methods were combined to make a model which may help managers in urgent situations to make good decision and prepare suitable programs. In this research Delphi method and Second Order Confirmatory Factors Analysis were employed to detect effective factors in reducing and controlling earthquake damages. After confirming these factors, by Partial Least Square software t...

The financial management of a disaster risk creates significant tasks and responsibilities for governments, economic agents, individuals and businesses. Among other disasters, flooding is seen to be a significant risk which has the potential to disrupt SME's operations because the (SMEs) are the backbone of the developing economies and also developed economies. The main goal of this study is two-fold: First, to provide a general overview of the contributions to the literature on the good governance and economic efficiency with a special focus on the financial adaptive capacity of SME to face a natural disaster, second, to identify the reasons for their weakness on adaptive organizational behaviors. Business continuity process is vital aftermath of a flood event. Affected SME's experiences are discussed drawing upon interviews conducted in local case studies.

The financial management of a disaster risk creates significant tasks and responsibilities for governments, economic agents, individuals and businesses. Among other disasters, flooding is seen to be a significant risk which has the potential to disrupt SME’s operations because the (SMEs) are the backbone of the developing economies and also developed economies. The main goal of this study is two-fold: First, to provide a general overview of the contributions to the literature on the good governance and economic efficiency with a special focus on the financial adaptive capacity of SME to face a natural disaster, second, to identify the reasons for their weakness on adaptive organizational behaviors. Business continuity process is vital aftermath of a flood event. Affected SME’s experiences are discussed drawing upon interviews conducted in local case studies. Acknowledgment: The author thanks to financial support by Galatasaray University Research Foundation under project grant BAP/ ...

In today's world, with the increase in the occurrence of disruptions and risks in organizations, preventing their recurrence or dealing with them has become increasingly important. With the concept of business continuity management, which is an inseparable part of risk management, a solution can be identified and implemented to recover critical processes or prevent long stops and interruptions for organizations. This research aims to identify factors affecting the business continuity value in the pharmaceutical industry, examine the relationships between business continuity management factors and business continuity value, and provide operational solutions based on the BCM assessment framework, focusing on the most important pharmaceutical risks. Business continuity management factors and risks in the pharmaceutical industry were identified using Grounded Theory and Delphi methods. Experts were selected from 5 pharmaceutical companies using the snowball technique to distribute and complete the Delphi questionnaires. The identified factors were confirmed in two Delphi rounds, and the Kendall coefficient was used to reach a consensus among experts. The collected data were analyzed descriptively and inferentially, and the Friedman test was used to examine the ranking of business continuity management factors, and the Spearman test was used to examine the research hypotheses. The BCM assessment framework was also implemented in 5 companies, and its data was examined for all companies. The findings of the Spearman test showed that there is a positive relationship between business continuity management factors and BCV, and an inverse relationship between pharmaceutical risks and BCV. The findings of implementing the business continuity management framework in pharmaceutical companies showed that controlling and reviewing programs and procedures, business continuity planning, business continuity culture, risk management, and resource management are the most important factors in the success of BCM, and the most important pharmaceutical risks are supply chain risk, product quality risk, microbiology risks, and research and development risks. The implementation of the framework in pharmaceutical companies showed that companies with higher BCV values have greater ability to cope with risk and process continuity, and will suffer fewer losses.

Effective project management is a key to success in any type of project, no matter how small or big a project is. Due to intelligence, a flawless strategy, and a right approach matter a lot. This research paper provides an overview of project management and its role in diverse fields from IT to engineering. It provides insights into innovation in technology and its use to propel projects to success. The paper along with addressing challenges limitations, and future scope, offers insights and possible solutions to improve project outcomes.

As organizations navigate complex digital transformations, the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into Project Management Offices (PMOs) is becoming a strategic imperative. This article explores the evolving role of PMOs as enablers of enterprise-wide innovation and agility through AI-driven decision-making. Drawing insights from MTN Ghana's PMO, led by co-author William Tetteh, we examine how AI technologies—such as predictive analytics, natural language processing, and intelligent automation—are reshaping project portfolio management, resource optimization, and executive reporting. We propose a framework for embedding AI into the PMO ecosystem, emphasizing alignment with strategic objectives, data governance, and change management. By analyzing real-world applications and challenges, this study underscores how PMOs can become vital strategic partners to executive leadership in accelerating organizational performance, adaptability, and value delivery in the AI era.

This article presents a practical, high-impact approach to business continuity planning (BCP) in healthcare organizations managing remote and hybrid teams across multiple continents. It introduces innovative strategies for execution, combining cloud-based infrastructure, zero-trust cybersecurity, global coordination, and hands-on workforce preparedness. Built from real-world leadership experience, the article outlines a step-by-step roadmap for turning continuity plans into actionable, people-centered systems that ensure patient care remains uninterrupted in any crisis.

Today, organizations face a range of known and unknown risk factors that threaten their operations, including industrial accidents, natural disasters, and cyberattacks. In this ambiguous and complex environment, business continuity management (BCM) offers an approach to prepare for diverse risks and uncertainties. This article reviews the second edition of the book Business Continuity Management: A Crisis Management Approach by Dominic Elliott, Ethné Swartz, and Brahim Herbane. The core of the book is a four-stage process for initiating, planning, implementing, and operationally managing BCM. The book achieves its goal of repositioning BCM from a reactive, technical discipline to a proactive, strategic process that is embedded in organizational culture. However, the book occasionally lacks transferable and actionable details, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises and non-Western contexts. Nevertheless, the book is a valuable resource for scholars and practitioners alike, and is also suitable for classroom use. I recommend the book to anyone who wants to deepen their understanding of BCM as a strategic approach to risk and crisis prevention.


Gauer, Kolja, Business Continuity Management: A Crisis Management Approach (February 19, 2025). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=

Background and purpose: "Organizing and Direction of operations" are important aspects of operational planning. One of the problems in management of hospitals is the lack of on time and correct organization and direction of operations for operational planning. This study has been conducted to evaluate the effect of organization and direction of operations on operational planning in hospitals in 2013-14 in Iran. In this applied study, in which revisal, comparative , quantitative methods has been used, the theoretical models of operational planning were examined through Library Studies, and after determining the variables of different models of operational planning, a questionnaire was developed. A survey from 176 experts from academic and administrates of hospitals was carried out as well. The data was collected. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was performed as well. The effect of the "Organization of planning team " and "Direction of planning team" on operational planning in hospitals based on factor analysis of regression coefficients were estimated to be 0.761 and 0.916. Also in the results obtained from the survey from the experts, the question of "Formation of operational planning team and determining of their duties" with the mean of 4.60 and "Recognition of strategic problems and prioritizing them" with the mean of 4.31 have been the highest score. In factor analysis with varimax method, the questions of the "Collecting, protecting and analysis of data related to operational planning " and "Formation team that directs and supervises the plans performance process" with 0/628 and 0/797 have the highest score, respectively. The use of appropriate and correct recognition of organization and direction of operations can improve the performance of operational planning in hospital.

هديکچ شيپ هنيمز فده و : رد تیقفوم يارب همانرب ر ی ز ي ناتــ ـسرامیب تیریدم رد دوجوم تلاکــ ـشم زا یکی .دوــ ـش هجوت نآ فلتخم داعبا هب دیاب یتایلمع مدع اه نامزاس هد ی و حیحص هب عقوم تیاده و ییارجا تلایکشت نآ اه يارب همانرب ر ی ز ي یتایلمع م ی دشاب شهوژپ نیا . هب روظنم نازیم یسررب ثأت ی ر لماوع " نامزاس هد ی و تیاده تایلمع " رب همانرب ر ی ز ي رد یتایلمع ب ی ناتسرام اه ي لاس رد ناریا 93 1392 .تسا هتفرگ ماجنا و داوم شور اه : زا نآ فلتخم لحارم رد هک يدربراک شهوژپ نیا رد شور اه ي و يروئت ياهوگلا ،تس ا هدش هدافتس ا ترورض بس حرب یمک و یقیبطت ،يرورم یلمع همانرب ر ی ز ي تاعلاطم شور اب یتایلمع هناخباتک ا ي نییعت زا سپ و دندش یس ررب فلتخم ياهوگلا ياهریغتم همانرب ر ی ز ي ،یتایلمع همانش س رپ ا ي اب و نیودت زا یهاوخرظن 176 شناد نارظنبحاص و ناگربخ زا رفن ناتسرامیب ییارجا و یهاگ ،اه هداد اه عمج يروآ .دش ماجنا يدییات و یفاشتکا یلماع لیلحت و ي هتفا اه : ثأت ی ر لماع " نامزاس هد ی میت همانرب ر ی ز ي " رب همانرب ر ی ز ي رد یتایلمع ب ی ناتس رام اه یلماع لیلحت ینویس رگر بیرض هبس احم سا...

Jatiluhur Reservoir is the multipurpose reservoir functioning as water resources for irrigation,  hydroelectric power plant, home and industry usages for the area of DKI Jakarta (capital city of Indonesia with the status of most densly populated city in the nation) and its surrounding regencies.  Its existence bears other benefits to many communities such as inland fishing, tourism and water sport recreation.  Last but not least important purpose, the reservoir  flood has a significant role for flood control management in the area of Karawang District and its adjacent areas.  Despite the many social welfares the reservoir can produce, the quality and quantity of water resources from Citarum River to the Jatiluhur reservoir bear some  problems that affect some challenges in the water management.  This research attempts to identify the real critical pulse of the problems by analyzing its business process in the water resources management along with their risk and impact that may affec...

Business Continuity Planning with AI in Corporate Real Estate

This paper explores how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can transform Business Continuity Planning (BCP) and risk management in Corporate Real Estate (CRE). It highlights AI as a strategic asset for shifting organizations from reactive to proactive risk management through the concept of a 'living plan.' The paper discusses the development, implementation, and benefits of an AI-powered continuity agent, demonstrating its real-world impact on mitigating risks and enhancing operational resilience through a hypothetical case study. The focus areas include disaster response accessibility, plan ownership, and the future of AI in BCP and risk management. Additionally, the AI agent improves communication and collaboration among stakeholders with real-time updates and automated communication workflows, and optimizes resource allocation during disruptions by identifying alternate workspaces, optimizing transportation routes, and managing inventory levels. Targeted at corporate real estate and risk management executives and C-level leaders.

از گذشته تا به امروز علم مدیریت پیشرفت بسیاری در جامعه جهانی داشته و به مرور محققان و دانشمندان به یافته های جدیدی در علم مدیریت رسیده اند. مدیریت بحران علم نسبتا جدیدی در علوم مدیریت مخصوصا در کشور ایران است.یکی دیگر از علوم مدیریت، مدیریت استراتژیک است که محققان این رشته بیشتر آن را وابسته به علم اقتصاد و شرکت های مالی می دانند، چه بسا مدیریت استراتژیک در رشته های نظامی و علوم دفاعی ماهیت دیگری را دارا است. درباره ارتباط مدیریت بحران و مدیریت استراتژیک پژوهش هایی انجام شده ولی هنوز یک سری از محققان این دو رشته را جدا از هم می-دانند.در این پژوهش ارتباط بین سامانه ICS (سامانه فرماندهی حادثه) مدیریت بحران با مدیریت استراتژیک بررسی شد و نتیجه-گیری به دست آمده چنین است که بین مدیریت استراتژیک نسبت به ماهیتی که دارد و سامانه ICS مدیریت بحران ارتباط تنگاتنگی وجود دارد.

This article contends that investigating relationalities between business continuity management (BCM), staff behaviours, and bureaucratic resilience advances understandings of the survival of international organisations (IOs). Drawing on in-depth interviews, a global staff survey, and a discourse analysis of United Nations (UN) reports and applying a post-colonial feminist theoretical approach foregrounding care ethics to the study of IOs, the article examines how the UN Secretary-General's Alternative Working Arrangements directive to close physical offices and open 'virtual offices' was implemented in the first 18 months of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is contended that BCM is necessary for IO survival, since if the IO bureaucracy is unable to be productive and maintain its spheres of influence during a crisis, it risks losing power and authority. Between March 2020 and August 2021, staff facilitated IO survival organically, from the bottom up, in four ways: demonstrating good performance and productivity; being adaptable and resilient; maintaining personal spheres of influence; and building communities of care within the UN. However, the UN's neoliberal, technocratic approach to business continuity and bureaucratic resilience-building neglected staff care needs. Consequently, IO survival is predicated on staff performing as exploited gendered and racialised 'neoliberal subjects' , revealing a chronic structural crisis rooted in the UN bureaucracy's hierarchical composition and unequal employment regime.

In unforeseen circumstances such as disasters or business disruptions, businesses often slow down, experience significant loss, and find disturbances in the critical aspects of business, including people, processes, products, and services, or even end abruptly. Organizations need to be resilient and have strong security, business continuity and recovery plans to prevent unfortunate results and efficiently manage through the challenges.
When a pandemic is infrequent, there are other instances, such as power supply issues, where the standard work management is disrupted. Organizations with Business Continuity Management Systems are more likely to adapt and solve critical challenges due to their prior planning, risk assessment solutions, and established alternatives.

In unforeseen circumstances such as disasters or business disruptions, businesses often slow down, experience significant loss, and find disturbances in the critical aspects of business, including people, processes, products, and services, or even end abruptly. Organizations need to be resilient and have strong security, business continuity and recovery plans to prevent unfortunate results and efficiently manage through the challenges.
When a pandemic is infrequent, there are other instances, such as power supply issues, where the standard work management is disrupted. Organizations with Business Continuity Management Systems are more likely to adapt and solve critical challenges due to their prior planning, risk assessment solutions, and established alternatives.

In unforeseen circumstances such as disasters or business disruptions, businesses often slow down, experience significant loss, and find disturbances in the critical aspects of business, including people, processes, products, and services, or even end abruptly. Organizations need to be resilient and have strong security, business continuity and recovery plans to prevent unfortunate results and efficiently manage through the challenges.
When a pandemic is infrequent, there are other instances, such as power supply issues, where the standard work management is disrupted. Organizations with Business Continuity Management Systems are more likely to adapt and solve critical challenges due to their prior planning, risk assessment solutions, and established alternatives.

Organization and digitization of buildings and civil engineering works including standard information modeling- Construction information management using construction information modeling - Part 5: Security approach to information management, which is drafted in the relevant commissions based on the acceptance of international or regional standards As the national standard of Iran, according to the method mentioned in item A, paragraph 7, the national standard of Iran No. 5 was prepared has been compiled.

Background and objective Considering that relief workers have a stressful job and regularly face trumatic events that remain in their minds, this research aims to survey the perceptions of relief workers in Iran about the quality of emergency group therapy sessions for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and investigate the related factors. Method The is descriptive and qualitative study. The study population includes all relief workers (Red Crescent, emergency, and fire workers) in Fars province in 2022. Purposive and convenince sampling methods wee used for sampling. The participants were 26 eligible relief workers. A semi-structured interview was used to collect data information. To determine the reliability of the data, three methods were used: Content validity according to the opinions of participants, analytical comparisons and the audit technique according to the opinions of experts. The data were analyzed according to the grounded theory method using open, axial and selective coding. Results The results indicate that causal factors included organizational rules and regulations, accountability, efficient management and psychol-personality concepts. Contexual factors included irregular holding of sessions, media capacity, lifestyle, communication skills, and history of mental illness. The intervening factors included the rereconstruction of memories and emotional excitability. The strategies included relaxation and religious activities. The consequence included reduced stress, being of the same mind and group cohesion, Unloading psychological burden. Conclusion The quality of group therapy sessions for PTSD in Iranian relief workers is influenced by factors that are related to their lifestyle and the management structure of their organizations.

Water Management Challenges and Solutions: From Infrastructure to Integrated Planning
This article explores critical aspects of water management, highlighting challenges and potential solutions. It covers water infrastructure and funding limitations, distribution system security and resilience, Non-Revenue Water (NRW) management techniques, and concludes by demonstrating how these aspects connect to integrated resource planning.

INTRODUCTION: Maneuver is the most useful strategy to decrease the toll and mortality in a disaster and also to raise the people's awareness in the society. Performing maneuver in schools is so important hence, we have a young population in the country. Red Crescent society, maneuver founder, aims to evaluate participants' views and suggestions with the purpose of better planning and performing in future.
METHODS: In this research, there were selected about 1500 ones by using of both non-probability sampling and questionnaire of data collection.
FINDINGS: According to the findings, about 60% of students were satisfied with the function of relief workers of Red Crescent and Fire Department; about 50% were fully satisfied with the provided programs; about 50% of participants declared that they never used of the relief trainings in previous maneuvers.
CONCLUSION: The students were satisfied with the maneuver players function and programs. However, in order to better implementation there should be more emphasis on functional programs and safety training points.
Keywords: Maneuver evaluation, Earthquake maneuver, Earthquake maneuver in schools, Training by maneuver

The role Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play in an economy cannot be over emphasized in both developed and developing countries and so their existence and survival is a concern not only to the governments but to scholars as well. In Kenya SMEs constitute a very important sector of economy employing majority of citizens. Majority of SMEs started die the same year due to risks, they face among other factors. This study identified capital market, customer relations, operational-economic, global view, and branding risks among others while main risk mitigation strategies were diversification, collaboration, insurance, and use of credits scorecards whereby 66% of SMEs used at least one of these strategies.

Purpose of the article: The aim of organizations is efficient management leading to a competitive advantage. In the current knowledge economy, employees, their knowledge and potential are considered to be an organizations’ main competitive advantage and their most important asset that determines organizations’ performance and success. By introducing modern areas of management, organizations can quickly identify and utilize knowledge, which enables the rapid application of knowledge in innovations and key processes and thus getting in front of their competitors and gaining a competitive advantage in the market. This article focuses on the impact of applying business continuity management, knowledge management and knowledge continuity management on innovations in organizations and their productivity. Methodology/methods: The article has been prepared based on the analysis of primary and secondary sources, outcome synthesis and the evaluation of results of a questionnaire survey in org...

ژایرت ، و دادما لاقتنا نامودصم بط ثحابم نیرتمهم زا یماظن ،تسا ژایرت ورگ رد یمزر یرادهب تیقفوم هکیروطب و .دشاب یم ناحورجم بسانم لاقتنا تیریدم زا یگنج ناحورجم رد ایحا هیلوا تامادقا ماجنا و ژایرت هنحص هثداح یتسیاب و عورش ات هب مودصم بسانم لاقتنا یرهش یاهناتسرامیب دبای همادا یتح . رد یصصخت لنسرپ و ینابیتشپ تاناکما نیرتهب دوجو اب یاهناتسرامیب زهجم رد هابتشا هنوگره وژایرت یگدیسر مدع رد هیلوا لحارم دناوت یم راب هعجاف دشاب . رد ،ینونک طیارش یدمآزور و ژایرت ثحب رییغت مهم رایسب یگنج تیعقوم ساسا رب اهدرکیور .تسا هتشون هب یا هقطنم ریخا یاهگنج براجت رب ینتبم رضاح دزادرپ یم یماظن بط رد ژایرت نییبت ( 4 .) لوا یناهج گنج زا ات یمیدق یاه متسیس جیردت هب نونک یریگیپ یرت قیقد تروص هب مخز تیریدم یاه لکتورپ و ژایرت تفای لماکت و اب زکارم هب هنحص زا لاقتنا متسیس هک یوحن هب ،ه دیدرگ یحارط رت هتفرشیپ تاناکما ( 2 .) رد ژایرت عقاو تدش زا رصتخم و یلک یبایزرا بیسآ ، و نامز یلاوت یگدیسر گنج نادیم رد هدننک نییعت و تیولوا یم لاقتنارد دشاب ژایرت . ورگ رد بسانم ندوب رثوم و تعرس روتکاف ود تسا . عون ییاسانش زا لبق یتح ز...

This paper seeks to clarify the significance of crisis management for small businesses, dispel myths about its suitability for resource-constrained environments, provide tailored approaches for effective crisis management, highlight the role of technology in crisis management, and highlight the benefits of using Crises Control for crisis management.
The realms of small business and crisis management research have been traditionally disjointed. Despite the economic significance and susceptibility of small businesses, there is a critical need for a more in-depth exploration of how owners navigate and respond to crisis management in the face of business disruptions. This research emphasizes the notable gap in crisis management studies within the small business literature and the corresponding lack of focus on small businesses in the crisis management literature. This gap persists despite increasing regulations mandating companies to establish crisis and business continuity management protocols. Through case studies involving four small businesses in the UK, this study scrutinizes the comprehension, resourcing, and support for crisis management. The analysis reveals key themes: understanding risks, a three-dimensional perspective of crises, learning from crises, and constrained support systems. Additionally, data suggests that owner-managers perceive risks through two frames—the 'growth vulnerability paradox' and the 'risk elastic.' Their grasp of crises is conceptualized chronologically, encompassing crisis threat, crisis response, and crisis impact. The study concludes by emphasizing the necessity for a crisis-centric approach to small business research and proposes an agenda for future investigations.

When faced with challenging conditions, rapid access to various forms of resource can be a key determinant of organisational resilience. The concept of social capital offers the potential to provide insights into this process and thereby gain a better understanding of organisational resourcefulness in a time of major disruption. Although disaster research has shown social capital to influence the resilience of place-based communities who suffer impacts of earthquakes, floods, power outages and domestic water supply contamination, bringing the concepts together in an organisational or business context has received little attention. Drawing upon data gathered as part of an ongoing EPSRC funded project, our paper presents some emerging findings from the project. We show how small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) in a UK case study were able to exploit their social capital for the necessary resources to help them survive the impacts of a severe flood event. Further, the nature of the resourcefulness may display a level of path-dependence related to the type of business. These preliminary findings show that firms which managed to recover quickly tended to demonstrate high levels of resourcefulness and problem solving capability. We find that flexibility, organisational culture and certain mindsets associated with particular professions e.g. engineering, appear to have a positive effect. Leveraging social capital, that is, the ability to utilise relationships and networks outside of the firm also emerges strongly as a critical factor which allowed some firms to respond and recover more quickly than others.

Business continuity is an assurance that the organisation will continue as a viable undertaking despite any disruption. The ability to overcome disruptions and survive entirely to achieve organisational goals and objectives is the cornerstone of business continuity in an organisation.

The high frequency of shipping in Indonesia is directly proportional to the increase of port activities. Along with the activities, the risk of disruption that might occur also increase. The impact of a disruption can be detrimental to many parties such as crew, company, ship, cargo carried, and environment. During the COVID-19 pandemic, ports are encouraged to develop a plan that could minimize the disruption of the role that port play in keeping trade flowing and vital supplies moving. The possible impact from COVID-19 related disruption urges companies to apply the Business Continuity Management (BCM) system to deal with any potential disruption that might occur. This paper tries to identify and rank each potential disruption from COVID-19 based on severity & occurrence, House of Risk method was used with the aid of questionnaires and interviews. Furthermore, business impact analysis is conducted in order to analyse the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and how BCM helps to minimize th...

After natural disasters, one of the most important aspects of recovery is to rebuild the affected small businesses and that is the continuation of their activity. However, when natural disasters occur, the focus of the planners and executives on recovery is usually physically focused and the neglect of small business recovery is neglected. As a result, recovery of small businesses is a major challenge in disastered areas, and choosing the right approach based on the economic, social and cultural conditions of the affected community is crucial. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to analyze the factors affecting the recovery of small businesses after the Kermanshah earthquake in 2017, using the phenomenological approach and the Colaizzi approach. To this end, the lived experiences of 36 affected urban and rural business owners were analyzed using in-depth semi-structured interviews using purposeful and criterion sampling methods. In order to comply with the qualitative characteristics of the research, three criteria of acceptability, validity and Dependability were used. The results of the inductive content analysis of the data obtained from the interviews identified and prioritize the factors affecting small business recovery, including 157 concepts and h categories of factors affecting small business recovery including managerial and economic factors, Supervisory and executive, individual and organizational, cultural and social, infrastructure and process, legal and legitimate, informants, and external and non-native factors resulted. Research findings show that attention to factors affecting the recovery of affected small businesses facilitates and accelerates their recovery process and provides the basis for survivors to survive and earn money from trauma survivors.

The primary purpose of the present study is to determine Critical Success Factors (CSFs) of Business Continuity Management (BCM) in the Iranian petrochemical industry. Based on an in-depth review of previous studies, the sub-factors affecting BCM were extracted. Then, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were applied to identify and verify the CSFs of BCM. The results demonstrate the significance of nine CSFs as follows: “business continuity strategy”, “contingency planning”, “crisis management”, “emergency management”, “enterprise risk management”, “disaster recovery”, “business continuity culture”, senior management commitment and support”, and “business impact analysis”. As this study was performed in the Iranian petrochemical industry, caution should be taken on the generalization of our findings. Practical implications - The identified CSFs could provide useful insights to successfully implement BCM for the managers of the surveyed organizations, especially, and other organizations in general. This research could develop theoretical literature on the CSFs of BCM and create a deep insight into the implementation of BCM.

In recent years, the expansion of higher education centers and universities has led to a growing number of students and student dormitories. Due to the large number of students in the dormitories, fires and accidents in these areas are considered as a serious threat. In this regard several measures have been taken to limit and reduce injury in dormitories in the event of an accident involving both structural and non-structural measures. These measures first provide safety and then enhance the environmental potential for rapid evacuation (i+n the event of an accident). Therefore, several studies have focused on reducing evacuation duration by simulating emergency evacuation. For this purpose, this paper simulates the human evacuation in the student dormitory of Block 1 of Shahid Beheshti University (with 178 students simulated) during the accident in Pathfinder software. In addition, physical depth and visual depth were analyzed by input-based Depth map software to reduce spatial hierarchy and faster access. The simulation results showed that preliminary optimization of the dormitory with furniture and equipment (non-structural measures) was a prerequisite for dormitory immunization to be evacuated, but due to its negligible effect on evacuation time (from 223.7 seconds to 219.8 seconds) it is not enough. Therefore, after optimization with furniture and equipment, the dormitory was evaluated with two methods of structural intervention (construction of emergency stairs with two exit doors) and reduction of the population of users. In the first method, with the structural intervention, the evacuation time was reduced from 219.8 seconds to 150.5 seconds, and in the second method by reducing the population of users in the end of second and third floors from 4 to 3 persons, evacuation time decreased from 219.8 seconds to 178.8 seconds which was suggested as a less expensive method. In the end, a method was proposed to make the dormitory work efficient with respect to the spatial configuration for emergency evacuation.

As Malaysia is focusing on building a knowledge-based economy and becoming more dependent on IT in the information age, the need to ensure business continuity in the event of crisis or disaster becomes more important than ever.All public organizations are urged to prepare their BCM to ensure that operations continue swiftly after the unintended event.However, recent studies showed that the frequency of service disruptions is quite alarming even though there is BCM in place. Thus, this study investigates the current practice of BCM and the contributing factors, namely organizations, people, process and technology to the failure of BCM implementation in Malaysia’s public service. The study was undertaken using questionnaires whereby 195 IT people participated in the study.The selected agencies are Frontline agencies and have implemented BCM.Findings showed that organization, people, process, and technology are significantly correlated with BCM failure in the Malaysian Public Sector.Th...

Introduction: According to the important role of nurses in facing nuclear disasters, a precise and exact program is crucial. Today, HICS is a common program for the management of facilities and human resources in disasters. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of education of hospital incident command system on preparedness of nurses in nuclear accidents in military hospitals of Mashhad. Materials and Methods: This was a semi-experimental study that was conducted at military hospitals in Mashhad, during year 2017. Eighty-three participated nurses were randomly divided to 2 groups. The test group was provided with 2 days of educational workshop of HICS and round-table manouver on the way of facing nuclear disasters. However, the control group had no intervention program. The amount of education effect was compared in 3 stages (before and one week and one month after the intervention), using a checklist and a researcher-made questionnaire. The researcher used the SPSS version 21 software (SPSS, Chicago, IL) to perform statistical analysis. Results were analyzed using independent t student, Fisher's exact test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Differences were considered statistically significant when P< 0.05. Results: There was no statistical difference between the 2 groups in demographic characteristics and preparedness before the intervention. The average scores of nurse's preparedness in nuclear accidents in the control and experimental groups a week post-intervention were 144.88±20.1 and 165.46±17.11, and one month post-intervention were 170.32±16.7 and 151.64±19.21, respectively. This difference was statistically significant (P=0.001). In the control group, the average score before the intervention was 138/83 and increased to 151/64 at the time of assessment. Discussion and Conclusion: The current results revealed that Hospital Incident Command System may improve the preparedness of nurses during nuclear crisis.

The present qualitative research was designed with the aim for arranging a model for Post-Crisis Small Businesses Recovery after the Kermanshah earthquake in 2017, using the grounded theory and a systematic approach of Strauss and Corbin. For this purpose, semi-structured interviews were conducted with help of theoretical sampling and snowball methods with 56 Owners of various damaged and destroyed urban and rural businesses and government officials. The sample size was dependent on the theoretical saturation of the data. In order to assess the validity and quality characteristics of the research, accreditation, accuracy and robustness of the data, the four criteria of Lincoln and Guba such as Credibility, Transferability and Fittingness, Dependability and Conformability have been used. The reliability of the study was calculated using Holstie's reliability formula and 82% was obtained. The results of data content analysis, through three open, axial and selective coding procedures, resulted in the identification of 555 codes, 332 concepts, and 58 categories. Finally, a paradigm model of small business Recovery was presented in which "Post-Crisis Small Businesses Recovery" was selected as the pivot phenomenon influenced by the causal factors of research. Grounded and interventional Factors, along with the pivotal phenomenon, formed the strategies, and the consequences were identified such as economic consequences, social and cultural consequences, political and administrative consequences. According to the research findings, the Priority or simultaneous Recovery of small businesses with other dimensions of reconstruction, can provide the basis for livelihood and income for the survivors of the accident and accelerate the process of physical reconstruction and other aspects of reconstruction.

Optimal condition of accessibility and rapid, easy, and safe travel to health_ treatment land uses can be performed by the systematic analysis of land use and transportation sub-systems. Developed countries are in Essential need of proper transportation system for quick accessibility of patients to decrease mortality in disaster time. By the use of urban politics, strategies, and provisions, it is possible to transform cities to resilient environment in the disastrous situation. This paper aims to pathology analysis of hospital land uses in district 1 of Shiraz city and its effect on accessibility disturbance to these land uses. This study benefits the analytic and quantitative research methods in study the objective of the current research. Urban plans, and filed observation and geographical information system is used in collecting the data. By the use of Average nearest neighbor index, kernel density estimation model, Euclidean distance, and the width of the road to hospitals, the road network and spatial location of such land uses was evaluated. Concerning the number of personnel and hospital beds, findings show the unbalanced and clustered spatial distribution increase vulnerability, and on the other side, low-width roads and inappropriate distance to junctions, threat the resilience of the district. Planning new hospitals, should concern dispersed distribution pattern and to increase the resilience of the environment Network structure of passages must be included in according to health index of hospitals.

Social crises are manifested by the disruption of existing order in a situation in which the ability of the social system to rebalance declines. One of these crises is the social protests of December 2017. These protests showed the occurrence of a crisis of pervasive, wide-ranging, deep and different social origin from other crises (separatist, religious, and student movements) of the past decades that could disrupt a hundred cities in the shortest possible time. As the most important political subsystem, how it can play a corrosive role in overthrowing the government in creating dissatisfaction and social crisis, is the main question and purpose of this research. The purpose of this article is to provide a qualitative analysis of how the role of corruption in creating social crises. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and purposive sampling with 23 experts on how the December 2017 protests took place in Shahrekord, with a multi-ethnic context and diverse dialect. The recorded interviews were implemented and after several reviews using the method of thematic analysis, which is one of the techniques of text analysis and interviews in qualitative method, were classified and the topics were extracted from it. Findings of the research include 8 comprehensive themes and 26 constructive themes of the role of corruption in creating social crises. Some of the 460 basic themes have been omitted due to similarity and duplication, and the most important ones are necessarily mentioned in the research findings section.

This study aimed to evaluate the safety resilience in process industries with a passive defense approach in South Pars Phase 19 refinery. This descriptive-analytical study was conducted in the period 2018 to 2020. The study sample included sweetening unit of South Pars Phase 19 gas refinery. Based on the three main components of probability, severity, and preparedness, a semi-quantitative model used for evaluating safety resilience in process industries. Data analysis performed using SPSS v.25 and AMOS v.24 software. 131 sources of danger were identified. 21.4% of the identified hazard elements are in the weak threat range, 59.5% are in the moderate threat range, and 19.1% are in the severe threat range. The maximum and minimum values ​​of the present study's resilience index were 500 and 10, respectively, and are related to the risk element of utility cut-off and instrument cut-off. The results showed that the resilience index is generally predictable up to 91%. The three components of probability, severity, and preparedness predicted the resilience indicators with values ​​of 0.39, 0.78, and 0.37, respectively. The findings indicated that severity index is the most crucial component in determining the vulnerability and resilience parameters of the system due to the nature of the process and critical parameters in refineries. Therefore, resilience assessment, attention to the severity of possible consequences, and the establishment of different protective layers to reduce the amplitude and severity of damage caused by catastrophic events is the most vital principle to increase process systems' resilience levels.

Spatial modeling of social resilience as a new defense approach and identification of parameters affecting it plays a key role in the defense readiness of cities. The purpose of this study is to present a new approach based on geographic information system for social resilience modeling. This new approach has been used on a case-by-case basis for the city of Sarpol-e Zahab as one of the most risky cities in the country in recent decades. For this purpose, a set of 10 indicators and 29 criteria affecting social resilience was used. AHP weighting method has been used to determine the weight of different criteria and the WLC model has been used to combine effective criteria to produce a map of spatial potential of social resilience. Finally, to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed model, the correlation coefficient between the values of spatial potential of social resilience obtained from the WLC model and the accuracy of the social resilience map was calculated based on the information collected through a questionnaire.  The results of this study showed that among the indicators affecting social resilience, indicators of social capital and social vulnerability had the greatest impact on modeling social resilience. Also, most urban areas (60%) are considered as low-level and vulnerable urban areas in terms of social resilience, which indicates a decrease in urban defense capacity against shocks and accidents.

Given that various natural crises are often unexpected and surprising in nature and the need for inter-organizational coordination to manage these crises, the purpose of this study was to examine the views of 140 people in the statistical community on the factors affecting inter-organizational coordination. Crisis-related organizations and the study of the impact of inter-organizational coordination on crisis management in natural disasters. In this study, partial stratified random sampling method was used. This research is a survey in terms of practical purpose and in terms of data collection method and is of correlation type. According to the research background, first after drawing the conceptual model of the research, a researcher-made questionnaire was designed and after obtaining the necessary reliability and validity, data were collected. After describing the questions with SPSS software, the research hypothesis test was performed according to the method of structural equations and factor analysis using Piels software. After performing statistical tests, it was found that informal relationships, the main factors of coordination and informal relationships have an effect on inter-organizational coordination. Informal relations with 76% have the greatest impact on inter-organizational coordination in the provincial crisis management headquarters. The effect of inter-organizational coordination on the elements of crisis management was also significant. The most effective inter-organizational coordination on the elements of crisis management on the stages of crisis management (0.55), crisis forecasting (0.54), crisis preparedness (0.45) and crisis recovery (0.01).

Ho voluto chiamarlo “manuale” per diverse ragioni fondamentali:

• deve essere di pronto utilizzo, specialmente per chi opera da tempo nell’informatica ed organizzazione;
• deve essere il frutto dell’esperienza maturata in diversi anni e in settori economici differenti;
• deve essere il più completo possibile, in base alle conoscenze e le opi- nioni di autorevoli organismi internazionali (infatti, vi sono riferimenti a degli standard internazionali in materia; alla normativa di vigilanza per le banche e le assicurazioni; ad alcuni testi, ecc.);
• deve però anche introdurre progressivamente nella materia chi affronta questi temi per la prima volta;
• l’esposizione deve essere la più chiara possibile, in modo da facilitarne l’immediata comprensione,
• deve essere equilibrato nel livello di profondità: sintetico, ove è orienta- to a dare una risposta immediata ed esauriente a degli aspetti tecnici (mi immagino colui o colei che sono impegnati in un progetto di busi- ness continuity e vogliono capire come orientarsi per raggiungere un determinato obiettivo); opportunamente sviluppato, ove trattasi di intro- durre il Lettore ad un tema nuovo o molto poco conosciuto (ad esem- pio: che cosa sono: la business continuity e in cosa consiste; il risk management ed il rapporto con la business continuity; la sicurezza del- la supply chain; aspetti di sicurezza nella esternalizzazione di processi vitali o critici; ecc.).