THIRD GFDR CONFERENCE 2007 MUMBAI INDIA. Searching for Principles of BCP, from ethics to strategy to...
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Transcript of THIRD GFDR CONFERENCE 2007 MUMBAI INDIA. Searching for Principles of BCP, from ethics to strategy to...
THIRD GFDR CONFERENCE 2007
MUMBAI INDIA
Searching for Principles of BCP, from ethics to strategy to tactics to implementation Ian DavisVisiting Professor in Disaster
Management Cranfield, Coventry, Oxford Brookes and Kyoto Universities
Acknowledgements
This presentation grows from current joint work on the Principles needed for Disaster Risk Management with Professor David Etkin, York University, Toronto
Friends working in Disaster Risk Management in South Africa who have made useful comments and criticism of these ideas
Six assumptions...
First Assumption...
In order to create safer more sustainable futures in a fragile world , society needs far more than goals, priorities for action and measurable targets...
principles are needed to guide actions.
Second Assumption...
Principles do not derive from international protocols or political expediency, they are based on the bedrock of ethical values.
Third Assumption...
Since- “every good idea needs a home”, principles need ownership. They require international , national and local acceptance as shared values.
In the corporate sector all levels of management need to believe in them
Fourth Assumption...Disasters present unique opportunities...
Fifth Assumption...Disasters come in all shapes and sizes, so be prepared...
Sixth Assumption...
If the targets set in the Hyogo Framework for Action are to be realised by 2015, (and beyond), it is essential for guiding principles for DRR, (including BCP) to be developed now and be globally accepted and followed .
Hyogo Framework for Action
Item 4 (ii) l “Promote the establishment of public–
private partnerships to better engage the private sector in disaster risk reduction activities; encourage the private sector to foster a culture of disaster prevention, putting greater emphasis on, and allocating resources to, pre-disaster activities such as risk assessments and early warning systems”
Principles, what principles?
Principles into Practice? “Sir, are you so grossly ignorant of
human nature, as not to know that a man may be very sincere in good principles, without having good practice?”
Samuel Johnson 1773
Oscar Wilde on Principles “I don’t like principles...I prefer
prejudices”“He was always late on principle, his
principle being that punctuality is the thief of time ”
“They were stupid enough to have principles, and unfortunate enough to act on them”
‘On a Chinese Sage’ (Confucius)
The abuse of principles...
“....you will never find an Englishman in the
wrong. He does everything on principle.
he fights you on patriotic principles; he robs you on business principles; he enslaves you on imperial principles.”
George Bernard Shaw 1897
The nature and function of Principles
Definitions…
“a fundamental truth as a basis of reasoning… Principles guide people’s decisions and actions… policies and procedures developed by organizations, and laws and doctrines of political entities”. Oxford Dictionary
“a general rule that you try to obey in the way that you try to achieve something. Principled actions or behaviour, based on clear guidance concerning the way to act.”
Collins English Language Dictionary
Thus the purpose of principles is highly practical:
to ‘guide actions’, ‘achieve something’, or
‘define the way to act’.
Why have Principles for BCP?
Why have Principles for BCR?
First, they enable organisations to create more coherent sets of policies and procedures
Second, principles can provide an ethical base for action leading to agreement and
consensus Third, principles are needed to guide the
various elements in BCR and within disaster
planning and implementation
A Hierarchy of DRR Principles
Visualise this hierarchy as a pyramid
A ‘food metaphor’
Level 4.
Implementation
Principles
Level 3. Tactical Principles
Level 2. Strategic Principles
Level 1. Ethical, Core Value Principles
Level 4.
Eating the meal
Level 3. Cookbook
Level 2. Nutrition Guide
Level 1. Ethics of food production
A Hierarchy of BCR Principles
“READY, FIRE, AIM..!” or “TACTICS, IMPLEMENT, STRATEGY...”
‘Ready, Fire, Aim’ is a precise description of what happens when you implement BCP before you have a strategy or tactics
Level 1. ETHICAL PRINCIPLES
Level 1. Ethical Principle
People have a basic right to safety and it is a fundamental obligation of their employers (as a duty of care) to ensure that their work force are protected from known risks, and that they are informed and warned of any risks known to their company that threatens their safety.
Level 2. STATEGIC PRINCIPLES
Strategy will relate to a pair of key variables: Probability and Consequence, demonstrated on the risk triangle
Haza
rd P
robabili
ty
Hazard Consequences100%0%
Level of Acceptable
Risk
100%
Level 2. Strategic Principles Primary Strategy:
Protect the lives and livelihoods of company staff from disaster impact
Protect company property (buildings/ infrastructure /plant) and products
Protect their organisation and its ongoing business continuity following disaster
Level 2. Strategic Principles Secondary Strategy:
Protect their customers and client base
Protect the communities adjacent to company offices and factories.
Protect the wider national and global spheres of operations
Protect the natural environment
The offsite safety plan?
Level 3. TACTICAL PRINCIPLES
Level 3. Tactical Principles These will be highly specific to a given
situation, depending on the type of business , and level of risks . Tactics will involve a balance between structural measures (fire protection equipment and relocation plans ) and non –structural measures (training and insurance)
These can be seen on the ‘chain of safety’ model
“The role of management is always to identify the weakest links, support them and strengthen them”
Ron Dennis Manager of Maclaran, Formula 1 Racing cars
Level 4. IMPLEMENTATION PRINCIPLES
Level 4.Implementation Principle
To be acceptable and sustainable BCP activities need to be implemented in a participatory manner, where: • the staff being protected support the actions being taken, • fully understand the nature and purpose of the BCP measures being undertaken, and • where the measures being proposed do not have adverse consequences on their normal work patterns or livelihoods.
Conclusions...
Principles are needed...
….. whenever BCP is planned and implemented. Principles need to be created as an essential addition to the ‘goals’ or ‘priorities for action’ as stated in the HFA.
A Hierarchy of Principles may be useful... …. as suggested in this paper, in order to form an integrated, logical and progressive basis for BCP to proceed
Post Script
things to remember...
BCP will require risks to be taken to address risks...
I
and BCP can be uncomfortable..
Principles need to be communicated to those who need them...
Ethical Principles require trusting relationships...
Principles need to be expressed in clear language...
Principles must never become an impossible burden....
Principles should liberate creative innovation...
BCP requires the active rather than
passive involvement of those affected...
And finally, is BCP an impossible uphill task?
Developing BCP within the workplace, in accordance with clear Principles, will reveal many levels of agreement as well as widely different values.
Thus, it is never going to be an easy task. But it can be achieved when it becomes a collective endeavour and not just one persons lonely task….
