Business Continuity Management

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Business Continuity Management
Ensuring sustainable competitive business survival in the marketplace remains a core concern in every organisation. This has been sufficiently influenced by increased appreciation of the ever dynamic social and economic environments and their impact on business performance. Such dynamics include but not limited to economic recession, emerging market competition, and physical business threats such as terrorism and theft (Hiles 2010, p.5). This is the driving force behind the development and increased implementation of business continuity management business approach in the society.
Nevertheless, the business impact of employing business continuity management has not been without contention among business management professional. On the one hand, proponents of the concept have asserted of its importance in enhancing the competitive ability of investments to recovery from the effects of disruption. On the contrary, opponents of business continuity management perceive it as a luxurious business management practice particularly during economic recessions recession periods (Geelen-Baass & Johnstone 2008, p.22).
All in all, given the holistic business protection safeguards brought by business continuity management in reducing information management operational risks, this approach is of crucial importance in ensuring long-term sustainability of business investments in the society. This essay is an argument against claim that “business continuity management is a luxury in times of recession.” The author identifies the driving factors and challenges facing BCM implementation and the role of the British Standard for BCM "BS25999" in business.
Business continuity management is a planning approach aimed at ensuring the continued competitive survival in the business world. The practice is in purpose meant to overseen the smooth survival of organisations through periods of business disruptions (Blyth 2009, p.10). True to the letter, numerous physical, economic, ethical, and legal factors have been blamed for causing business disruption. Such include natural disasters such as earthquakes, fires, and floods and their destructive impact of the structural functioning of investments.
On the other hand, theft, terrorism, and employees strikes of sabotage remain a real threat to the sustainable survival of investments. It is worth noting that employees remain the most important resource in promoting the mission and vision of an organisation. This has the ultimate implication that their failed commitment to company objectives risks the downfall of the organisation (Bizmanualz 2008, p.56). The growth of technology has brought with it both advantages and disadvantages to the process of business management.
Nevertheless, IT developments in the community have brought with them numerous impacts of information management practices in organisations. This is clearly evident from the ever increasing incidences of computer-based crimes such as hacking, malicious computer programs and cyber-terrorism (Blyth 2009, p.110). In addition, it is a common knowledge that technology is subject to failure. This implies that its integral role in business management practices is subject to both predictable and unpredictable threats.
These are the main business management concerns which business continuity management seeks to address. To achieve this goal, BCM entail various business management components. These include disaster recovery, contingency planning and crisis management. Moreover, business practices such as business recovery and resumption find their importance in business continuity management (Osborne 2007, p.19). The importance of business continuity management is influenced by regulatory, legislative, and business-related driving factors.
On the one hand, the business world is subject to legal provisions. These are in purpose to safeguard the economic interests of the company stakeholders. It is worth noting that investors are out to ensure maximised profits for their capital investments. In its most ideal state, this implies that stakeholders should be guaranteed of optimised return for their money (Matthys ND, p.45) On the contrary, the market is constantly affected by prevailing political, economic, and physical conditions. This threatens the effective survival of business without disruptions.
For example, records have it that the impact of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City led to the closure of numerous business investments. This is despite the fact that others managed to survive even after the infrastructural loss the attack brought to their investments. Moreover, available literature has established the fact that the current economic recession is threatening the grounding of numerous business investments in the society (Australian National Audit Office. ND, p.47). This has been evident from the high levels of unemployment in the society since the start of the recession.
Over the 2007-2008 the rate of unemployment in the United Kingdom rose to 9%, an element that was mainly blamed to workforce reduction policies by organisations (Bizmanualz 2008, p.50). True to the letter, with poor market for products, companies opt to reduce their production levels. This in return compromises their ability to accommodate a huge workforce. Worth to note here is the fact that a substantial number of investments have witnessed closure thanks to the hard economic conditions prompted by the recession.
The sustainable social and economic status of a nation is dependent on its economic sectors. This assertion is based on the fact that governments acquire their spending power from the revenue they collect from the people. In terms of business management, it is imperative that the government safeguards its economic spending power through imposing effective legal provisions to ensure the long-term survival of organisations (Bizmanualz 2008, p.32). Such are tailored towards promoting investor confidence through providing for a legal framework to protect their capital investments, as a way of sustaining government revenue.
According to the principles of effective business management practices, organisations should engage in providing their stakeholders with competitive value for their investment. Just to appreciate is the fact that customer loyalty is sufficiently associated with products from a particular company. Based on this reasoning, the downfall of any organisation brings with it substantial loss to their customers (Financial Services Authority 2006). This is the driving force behind the formulation and implementation of legal provisions by the government to impose the concept of BCM among organisations.
The British Standard for BCM "BS25999" in business is one of these government legal establishments. BS25999 is the BCM standard that is established and enforced the British Standards Institution. The first part of the standard provides the main guidelines for implementing BCM. In addition, it outlines a number of rules in defining the processes and principles that an effective BCM should have (Calder 2008, p.15). It is worth noting that this part can be sufficiently termed as being a set of recommendations on BCM standards.
Part 2 of the BS25999 on the other side is the legally enforceable form of BCM practices in the UK nation. Produced in 2007, this part encompasses the fine specifications of the BCM. In particular, it provides for information on the implementation, functioning and improvement of an existing BCM (Power ND, p.10). Just to appreciate is the fact that the standard divides improvements on documented BCM into objective and independent (Power ND, p.17). Thus, modifications of a BCM can either be through objective or independent auditing.
British Standard for BCM "BS25999" serves the important roles of ensuring effective business continuity management practices in business (Drewitt 2008, p.66). This is based on the fact that it dictates for organisations to ensure that their BCM planning is checked and certified by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). Available information indicates that the process of BCM certification involves numerous assessments visits by an accredited certification body to qualify the effectiveness of the BCM based on the operational environment of the particular organisation (Drewitt 2008, p.67).
In addition, United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), in conjunction with its accredited certification bodies are entailed with the role of survey the operations of BCM certified organisation to ensure their compliance with their BCM strategies (Drewitt 2008, p.69). It is worth noting that establishing a legal framework for the enforcement of business laws, as is the case for BCM BS25999, serves the role of ensuring conformity to such laws by organisations (Power ND, p.23). This serves to promote effective formulation, implementation, and execution of BCM by organisations.
On the other hand, BCM practices are influenced by a number of business-oriented factors. It is the mission of any organisation to ensure its continued long term survival in the marketplace. To realise this mission and objective, organisations must take into consideration sustainable measures to survive the imminent market dynamics that threaten to compromise its operations (Geelen-Baass & Johnstone 2008, p.42). It is worth noting that business operations are sufficiently influenced by prevailing conditions.
As an emphasis natural disaster such as earthquakes, floods, and fires lead to destruction of business investments. On the contrary, these occurrences cannot be precisely predicted in term of time, magnitude, and place (Swartz 2008, p.12). This leaves business managements with di...