Name: Sunil Mohan

Student Id: A00115915

Business Continuity
Assignment 1

Q.1 What is the importance of incident management system in an organization for business
continuity?

Incidents can affect organizations of any size and at anywhere. From weather to power outages,
fires, employee illnesses, political events, or outbreaks, every organization needs to develop an
event management system to ensure the smooth running of your business. Therefore, the incident
management system defines the organizational functions required to identify, analyze, and adjust
risks to prevent future recurrence. It is a company guide towards managing business disruptions.

With good planning, companies can take steps to reduce the potential impact of a disaster - and
prevent it from happening in the first place. It is important to plan well to protect yourself from
the effects of potential problems - from fires, floods, or theft to IT system failures, limited access
to facilities, or illness of key personnel. This planning is very important for all businesses
because many companies somewhere do not have the resources to deal with them easily in a
crisis situation.
Failure to plan can be dangerous. At the very least, you run the risk of losing customers while
restoring your business. But the worse is that your business will never recover and may
eventually close down.
As part of a company planning process you should :
 Identify potential problems that could affect you
 Determine how you intend to reduce the risk of these disasters
 Determine how you will react in the event of a disaster in the business continuity plan
 Check the system regularly
For example, if a company relies on computer data, you are required to set up a backup system to
have a copy of the key data in the event of a system failure.

Benefits of having an event management system

 A carefully planned business continuity plan will make coping easier and enable you to
minimize disruption to the business and its customers.
  It will prove to customers, insurers, and investors that your business is strong enough to
deal with anything that may be thrown at you.
 It will also increase employee confidence as they receive training to deal with uncertain
situations
 It is also an edge over the competition where the company has a good incident
management system and this will increase the company's growth at double pace.

Q.2 What are the other factors that might halt business operations. What kind of
suggestions would you provide for business continuity in those cases?

Following are the factors that can affect a business's performance:

1.Irregular Demand: One of the most important things that can stop a business from doing
business is the unusual demands on the market. In cases where demand is not met the product
will be retained and there will be no incoming revenue.
Suggestion: The solution to this is to have a proper forecasting process in place so that the
irregularities of the need are dealt with effectively.

2.Insufficient availability of raw materials: Another factor that can hault business operations is
the insufficient availability of raw materials. If there is not enough availability of raw materials
then the final product would not be able to be made then business operations will be suspended.
Suggestion: The solution to this is to maintain a steady supply of raw materials and to contact at
least two to three different vendors, who are able to supply raw materials in a timely manner. If a
company relies on only one supplier, this will definitely create a problem for the company if the
supplier does not meet the requirements in a timely manner.

3.Machine Dis-functioning: Another thing that can stop business operations is Machine Dis-
functioning. The equipment used to produce the final product can have a technical problem and
due to which operations can be suspended.
Suggestion: Therefore in such cases, it is very important that the business activities are sufficient
to stock up replaceable equipments that can be replaced in a timely manner. The business must
also have access to professionals who can be inspect and correct the functioning without any
delay.
4.Low Profits: The inability to generate sufficient business profits is a common reason for the
closure of a company. Although there are multiple factors behind low profits such as quality but
overall it reduces the company’s efficiency to continue while having losses for a long time.
Suggestion: For this, the company should focus on its funds like how much they are spending
for earning a level of amount. Other than that, the company can improve its quality and give a
better customer experience to its regular customers if there is some issue in sales of a product or
service.

5. Tough Competition: Competition is another factor that can decrease the business growth
because today a customer has so many options and he/she can inspect those options before
actually buying that product or service.
Suggestion: In order to maintain the position in the market, businesses need to come with a
unique product with the best possible quality. Along with that, they can promote the qualities of
their product or service in order to attract the customer and keep them updated.

6.Outdated Technology: Todays, technology plays a very vital role in business success but
technology can also be the reason for its failure if the company uses outdated technology which
cannot cope with the modern world.
Suggestion: Business can increase their growth by using new technology and new technology
can also help them to increase their overall efficiency by reducing labor work and increasing
productivity.

Q.3 What impact would this solution of ensuring business continuity have on the future
business operations of the company?

Importance of risk preparation and business continuity in any organization is of paramount

importance. However, this requires finding that those systems are similar when viewed in the
real world. Because re-establishing a business plan is important for many organizations, a variety
of disaster recovery plans are also available and you can rely on technology to make those
arrangements.

It is important to maintain business power and rapid growth in the event of a major disruption.
The business continuity plan helps to track strategies carefully and provide any organizational
indicators for survival. It tells how the company should continue to operate without such
controversy; includes business steps, resources, HR, co-workers, and more. The organization
received very little interruption due to an unsecured WAN connection. Although the
organization's basic WAN issue was insignificant, what happened made the rundown one of the
organizations that agreed to prepare to prevent the worst possible outcome and ensure business
integration. The organization has found a number of effective ways to protect its core structures
from future disruptions, including creating systematic failures of Internet organizations, the use
of dynamic power, and devices for directing sufficient information to its web page and linking
two organizations and accomplishments. In addition, it has re-employed its key employees.

Technology is evolving and needs to be updated in order for the preparations to be renewed.
Companies like these need to incorporate basic expertise into any situation every year to evaluate
their performance and evaluate any regions that need to be transformed. Before auditing, ask for
suggestions from employees for joining this arrangement. Ask all specific sectors or units to
evaluate performance, including branch locations or other remote companies. Provide an
opportunity to deal with the conflict and it is necessary to set the strategy to work. Business
continuity plans should form the basis of any business development process for a productive
organization. Business continuity plans have gone through the usual crisis situations to deal with
disruptions while recording important business skills. It can be better if you start working as fast
as expected.
References

https://www.agilityrecovery.com/article/evolution-incident-
management-business-continuity

https://www.emergency-response-planning.com/blog/incident-
management-and-business-continuity-go-hand-in-hand

https://searchdisasterrecovery.techtarget.com/definition/incident-
management-plan-IMP

https://www.infoentrepreneurs.org/en/guides/crisis-management-and-
business-continuity-planning/

https://www.thebalancesmb.com/business-continuity-plan-to-protect-
your-company-4156386

business owners can use technology to reduce business costs by using software
which enables a firm to automate back office functions, such as record keeping,
accounting and payroll. Mobile tech allows home offices and field reps to interact in
real time. For example, field reps can use mobile apps to record their daily expenses
as they incur them and have them sync automatically with accounting software back at
the office.
Business owners can also use technology to create secure environments for
maintaining sensitive business or consumer information. Many types of business
technology or software programs are user-friendly and allow business owners with
only minor backgrounds in information technology to make the most of their tools and
features.

Business technology helps small businesses improve their communication processes.

Emails, texting, websites and apps, for example, facilitate improved communication
with consumers. Using several types of information technology communication
methods enable companies to saturate the economic market with their message.
Companies may also receive more consumer feedback through these electronic
communication methods.
Technology also improves inter-office communication as well. For example, social
intranet software gives employees a centralizes portal to access and update internal
documents and contracts and relay relevant data to other departments instantly.
These methods also help companies reach consumers through mobile devices in a
real-time format.

Small businesses can increase their employees' productivity through the use of
technology. Computer programs and business software usually allow employees to
process more information than manual methods. Business owners can also implement
business technology to reduce the amount of human labor in business functions. This
allows small businesses to avoid paying labor costs along with employee benefits.

Even fundamental business tech can have a major impact on employee performance.
For example, by placing employee-performance appraisal information in an online
framework, supervisors can easily create measurable goals for their employees to
reach and sustain company objectives. Business owners may also choose to expand
operations using technology rather than employees if the technology will provide
better production output.

Technology allows small businesses to reach new economic markets. Rather than just
selling consumer goods or services in the local market, small businesses can reach
regional, national and international markets. Retail websites are the most common
way small businesses sell products in several different economic markets.

Websites represent a low-cost option that consumers can access 24/7 when needing
to purchase goods or services. Small business owners can also use internet
advertising to reach new markets and customers through carefully placed web
banners or ads.

Business technology allows companies to outsource business functions to other

businesses in the national and international business environment. Outsourcing can
help companies lower costs and focus on completing the business function they do
best. Technical support and customer service are two common function companies
outsource.

Small business owners may consider outsourcing some operations if they do not have
the proper facilities or available manpower. Outsourcing technology also allows
businesses to outsource function to the least expensive areas possible, including
foreign countries.

Measuring performance is an essential function in business management. Business

owners must have quantitative or qualitative analysis procedures to review their
companies operations. Quantitative analysis uses mathematical calculations to
measure performance output. Qualitative analysis allows business owners to make
personal judgments or inferences from business information. Employee performance

Economics is a study involving the allocation, production and distribution of economic

resources. Nations and governments pay close attention to economic indicators since
they provide information on the contraction or expansion of an economy. Leading
indicators are usually the most important economic indicators. They provide current
information that may predict future changes in the economy. Several types of
important leading indicators are used in an economy.

The consumer price index (CPI) is an economic indicator responsible for measuring
the inflation of an economy. Inflation is commonly defined as too many dollars chasing
too few goods. CPI measures inflation by calculating the change in cost on a bundle of
consumer goods and services. Increasing inflation usually translates to a decrease in
purchasing power and can signal significant problems for future economic periods.

Gross domestic product (GDP) is easily the most important leading indicator in an
economy. GDP measures the total amount of goods produced within a nation’s
borders. This indicator is measured as a percentage on a quarterly and annual basis.
Decreasing GDP percentages can indicate a future economic downturn. GDP figures
can also be broken down by specific industry to see where growth is occurring in the
economy.

Retail sales is a leading indicator that tracks the amount of spending in an economy.
This indicator provides information on how much money consumers are spending on
various goods and services in the economic marketplace. Similar to GDP, this
indicator is often broken out into various industries so more detailed analysis can
provide information on the economy.

Consumer confidence is a common economic indicator providing information on what

individual consumers believe about current economic conditions. Consumer
confidence frequently affects several other indicators. Low consumer confidence
usually indicates individuals are unsure of the nation’s economic strain and may
refrain from spending until conditions change. Businesses often base their economic
decisions based on the strength of current consumer confidence.