Designing and developing a disaster management plan Essay

Designing and developing a disaster management plan - Essay Example The focus in the recent years has been shifted from the restoration of services at the earliest possible time to continuity of the business operations without loss of time. The utility industries are in a very piquant situation in view of various statutory compliances involved in the business operations apart from protection of employees, losses on account of disruption of the services, damages to the properties and machineries and civil and criminal liabilities arising out of such situations. It is pertinent to note that ‘accidents in the transportation field have had significant impacts on expenditure to reduce risks and increase safety, in some cases quite independently of the technical and economic arguments for investment but merely because public perception demands that particular ghosts be laid.’ (Perrow, 1984). A good disaster management plan envisages establishment of security policies and implementation of procedures in practice. Physical Security of the executives is of paramount importance, because avoiding breakdown in the decision making machinery is very crucial. Identification, analysis and evaluation of the facilities which are prone to disasters based on the available data may be the starting point. Understanding of peoples perception of and relationships with disaster should reflect in the personnel policy. No orders can be issued and effectively acted upon if there is inadequacy in this respect, because, these are the factors which govern their choices and actions. Honesty and integrity of an employee is very important in dealing with emergencies. Success of all management plans hinges on the company’s policy with regard to recruitment, background investigation, orientation provided and the continuous performance appraisal in relation to the employees. Security of data especially for a company in insurance sector is very important. Secret and confidential data should have very