ARM Chapter 9

Question 1

Organizations that can best withstand disruption share some key resiliency traits. Name 5 discussed in the chapter 9.

Answer 1

• Culture of openness and trust that is cultivated from the top down. Building organizational resilience requires a people-centric approach.
• Imagine potential disruptions - brainstorming about potential disruptions at both nuisance and catastrophic level.
• Clear company objectives that staff is aware of.
• Strong relationships with vendors and customers who view the company as a partner rather than a commodity.
• Valued employees that are treated as whole human beings rather than simply workers.

Question 2

What are the 4 main areas typically addressed in a Business Continuity Management (BCM) plan?

Answer 2

1. Physical locations
2. Operational capacity such as the loss of a supply chain or the inability of personnel to report to work.
3. Technology
4. Internal effects on the organization, such as fiscal issues.

Question 3

What 3 things should a Business Impact Analysis (BIA) identify?

Answer 3

1. Points in time when an interruption would have the greatest impact.
2. What the operational impact would be.
3. What the financial impact would be.

Question 4

Once the BIA is established, the organization can begin to develop strategies to maintain critical functions and processes during interruptions. What are 5 models that are commonly used?

Answer 4

1. Active backup model- Establishing a second site that includes all of the necessary production equipment.
2. Split operations model - maintaining 2 or more active sites that are geographically dispersed.
3. Contingency model - developing and alternative way to maintain production such as manual processes or contractors.
4. Prioritization model - prioritizing which products to produce or which customers to serve given limited resources.
5. Risk-transfer model - purchasing business interruption insurance.

Question 5

A business continuity plan(BCP) should include what 5 items?

Answer 5

1. Time goal - how long it should take
2. Operational goal - level of recovery or functionality that is acceptable.
3. Resources needed.
4. Detailed tasks and procedures - what each member of the recovery team is responsible for.
5. Documentation - the written plan outlining the goals, resources and tasks needed to sustain operations.

Question 6

During major disruptions, a BCP may not sufficiently restore operations and that is where a ______ comes in.

Answer 6

Strategic redeployment plan (SRP)

Question 7

A Strategic Redeployment Plan (SRP) brings an organization back from a state of disruption and crisis in 4 stages. What are they?

Answer 7

1. Emergency stage
2. Alternative marketing stage
3. Contingency production stage
4. Communication stage.

Question 8

For an SRP, the Emergency Stage, also known as the disaster recovery stage, starts at the moment of disruption and constitutes the organization’s immediate response. It is designed to accomplish what 4 objectives?

Answer 8

1. Protect people
2. Protect physical assets
3. Form a disaster recovery team
4. Protect reputation of the organization.

Question 9

Following the Emergency Stage of the SRP is the Alternative Marketing Stage during which ____?

Answer 9

The organization must evaluate the impact of the disruption on its reputation and market share and then determine if a new marketing strategy must be deployed.

Question 10

What does the Contingency Production Stage of the SRP focus on?

Answer 10

Minimizing downtime for the organization and determining if it’s technology and machinery are adequate to meet new production goals as well as if the supply and delivery chain can keep up.

Question 11

What is the sole objective of the Communication stage of an SRP?

Answer 11

To preserve or enhance stakeholder, including customers and investors, have trust and confidence in the organization.