Category Archives: Crisis Management

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Study Lists Most and Least Resilient Countries

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Businesses are more dependent on their supply chains than ever, with supply chain disruption one of the leading causes of business instability. To thrive, companies need to be resilient, and part of that is their location and the location of suppliers. According to FM Global’s 2015 FM Global Resilience Index, Norway tops the list of resilient countries, with Switzerland in second place.

The study’s purpose is to help companies evaluate and manage their supply chain risk by ranking 130 countries and regions in terms of their business resilience to supply chain disruption. Data is based on: economic strength, risk quality (mostly related to natural hazard exposure and risk management) and supply chain factors (including corruption, infrastructure and local supplier quality).

According to the study:

1. Norway retains its top position in the index from last year, with strong results for economic productivity, control of corruption, political risk and resilience to an oil shock. The country’s management of fire risk offers opportunity to improve still further.

2. Despite its massive oil reserves, Venezuela ranks 130, placing it at the bottom of the index, and reflecting the many challenges South America faces, ranging from economic and political to geological, with its west coast on the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’.

3. Taiwan has jumped the most in the index – 52 places in the annual ranking to 37; more than any other country. Its rise is due mainly to a substantial improvement in the country’s commitment to risk management, as it relates both to natural hazard risk and fire risk. Given the country’s location at the western edge of the Philippine Sea plate, this is a welcome development.

4. Ukraine, ranked 107, and Kazakhstan, ranked 102, dropped more places this year than any other country; a fall of 31 places each. Unsurprisingly, for Ukraine, the worsening political risk, combined with poorer infrastructure, was to blame. The fall for Kazakhstan this year reflects a poorer commitment to natural hazard risk management in the region.

5. In the European Union (EU), Greece fell from position 54 to 65. The recent victory of the anti-austerity Syriza party almost certainly will usher in a period of greater friction and turbulence with its EU partners.

6. France, ranked 19, trails Germany at 6, the leading EU nation. France has slid down the index in recent years reflecting a rising risk of terrorism – evidenced tragically in Paris – and deteriorating perceptions of both infrastructure and local suppliers. Also exposed to terrorism risk is the United Kingdom, which nevertheless held steady at 20 for the third year running, aided by its relative resistance to oil shocks.

New to the top 10 this year are Qatar, ranked 7, and Finland, ranked 9. Qatar benefits from its macroeconomic stability, efficient goods and labor markets and high degree of security. The country owes its rise of 8 places to a considerable improvement in commitment to fire risk management in the region. Finland’s strengths derive from its innovative capabilities, a product of high public and private investment in research and development, strong links between academia and private sector companies, and an excellent record in education and training, according to the study.

In 10th place is U.S. Region 3, the central region of the United States. While this part of the country is subject to a variety of natural hazards, there is less exposure than states on the east or west coasts of the country. Belgium, ranked 11, and Australia, ranked 14, dropped out of the top 10–barely–and both countries retain high positions in the 2015 index.

 

 

Key Takeaways from the White House Summit on Cybersecurity

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Stanford University, Feb. 13, 2015

It was an honor to attend the White House Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection and I applaud President Obama’s efforts to bring together an impressive group of leaders across a broad range of industries, government and law enforcement officials, and consumer and privacy advocates to discuss cybersecurity. This is an issue that affects us all and clearly has no borders.

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While there were several core themes discussed throughout the day, three key takeaways are of particular interest to private industry:

Public-Private Collaboration is Critical
The overarching theme presented by the White House was how to boost the collaboration between companies and agencies in order to combat hackers. The announcement in the days preceding the Summit of the new Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center (CTIIC) was just a first step. As a further validation of the importance and urgency on behalf of the White House surrounding the issue at hand, at the Summit President Obama signed an Executive Order directing the creation of Information Sharing and Analysis Organizations (ISAOs) which will enable companies and the government to share classified cyber threat information. Only with an ongoing sharing of threat information between the government, including the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and companies across industry groups, will we be successful.

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With much of the order voluntary, companies across all industries are also being asked to step up to the table now to not only share threat information but to establish best practices within their organizations in order to protect their constituencies in the future. This too is critical, since the maintenance of best practices is closely tied to a company’s ability to get cyber insurance.

Understanding Vulnerabilities is Key to Improving Best Practices
While the need to focus on the security systems operating behind consumer payment systems in order to make it harder for hackers to steal information is absolutely critical, and Apple CEO Tim Cook was quite persuasive on this point, to stop at payment systems alone would not solve cyber hacks. In order to enhance consumer protections online, single factor authentication, or the password as the primary form of security, is a dated practice that should be replaced with more secure technologies.

Companies also need to be mindful that criminals can breach a business’ defenses in any number of ways – directly through company networks and also indirectly through the network of vendors and third party service providers. What is needed is a fuller understanding of all the possible threats, malicious actors and the broad range of tactics those actors will employ. Across all industries, companies are facing a highly complex and constantly evolving threat environment with new attackers and attack methods to be wary of in order to protect their partners, clients and customers.

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What Comes Next is Even More Meaningful
While it is essential for the United States to take a leadership role on this important issue, with guidelines and processes for internal consumption, we cannot merely look inward. We are living and working in an increasingly interconnected and globalized environment, and that environment also includes criminal elements. Cyber threats from foreign countries, such as Russia, China and North Korea, keep growing. Sharing information alone won’t stop them. The next steps from our government in protecting our nation’s business must be even more meaningful. We urge cooperation with international law enforcement agencies to help protect companies from foreign-based threats and to help make significant progress in this area.

Can Your Organization Survive a Natural Disaster?

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In the wake of a natural disaster, about a quarter of businesses never reopen.

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Whether due to primary concerns like a warehouse flooding, secondary complications like supply chain disruption, or indirect consequences like transportation shutdown that prevents employees from getting to work, there are a broad range of risks that can severely impact any business in the wake of a catastrophe that must be planned for.

Planning and securing against natural disaster risks can be daunting and exceptionally expensive, but researchers have found that every dollar invested in preparedness can prevent of disaster-related economic losses.

Check out more of the questions to ask and ways to mitigate the risk of natural disasters for your organization with this infographic from Boston University’s Metropolitan College Graduate Programs in Management:

Survive a Natural Disaster

Building Resilient Communities on a Shoestring Budget

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Jay Shaw IDCE

NEW ORLEANS—While it may seem counterintuitive at an event that also has an expo, one speaker at the International Disaster Conference today argues that a lot of the “preparedness” products on the market are not worth the price tag—and may even work against public safety.

According to the graduate research of disaster management expert and firefighter paramedic Jay Shaw, dikes and levies reduced people’s preparedness levels by 25% for all hazards including flooding. About three quarters of respondents in his research had experience with a major flood, and 75% felt prepared for a flood. Yet 65% felt unprepared for any other disaster, and 46% did not have any emergency kit, plan or supplies.

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The dikes in their town, Shaw found, led to a sense of security against flooding risk, and left many unaware of other risks and how to best prepare for them.

Nationally, a 2009 FEMA study found that 57% of people claim to be prepared for a disaster for 72 hours. Under further review, however, 70% of these individuals did not know the basic components of an emergency go-bag or emergency plan.

Amidst go bags, 72-hour disaster kits, car kits, evacuation kits, shelter in place kits, and disaster buckets, the consumer-facing market for emergency preparedness often just confuses the public, selling overlapping supplies and sometimes contradictory instructions.

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“We are failing to get through to people,” Shaw said. “We need to stop telling people what to do and start showing them. A 72-hour preparedness message is not enough. It is a great idea to tell people to get prepared, but people are not doing it. And part of the problem is that there is no social stigma—it is still acceptable to be unprepared.”

Other top barriers to preparedness, according to Shaw, include:

  • Ignorance – “It won’t happen to me”
  • Risk perception is low
  • Hazard recognition is low
  • Cost
  • Vulnerable population
  • Confused about what to do
  • Capacity to cope is too high, due to a false sense of preparedness

Indeed, most people with resources consider a credit card all the emergency kit they need. “If you have to evacuate in the middle of the night, you’re going to take out the credit card and get a hotel room. If Ebola is coming, we’ll rent a cabin out by the lake and get out of town,” Shaw said.

Even those who do purchase basic pre-made kits are not improving capacity for resilience. “We are selling a sense of security, but if you’re opening it for the first time in an emergency, you have gained nothing to prepare for and understand the risks of a disaster and how to best make it through,” he said. “Buying all the kits for the hazards in my community would cost $2,600 and it would take up a 10-by-10 room in my basement. But I not be prepared because I would not know how to use them.”

Some of the best solutions may include:

  • Conducting comprehensive research on preparedness levels to understand why they are so low
  • Encouraging communities to engage in creative ways to finance local preparedness efforts and events
  • Using the soldiers we have—figure out what percent of duties we can take away to increase the prevention roles and education of police, fire, EMS and healthcare professionals
  • Developing and maintaining CERT teams, including members from prospective police, fire and EMS candidates, even offering the incentive of hours on the team for preferred application status
  • Shifting department and budgetary focus from response to preparedness
  • Creating train the trainer courses to build capacity across departments
  • Developing an international strategy on the contents of emergency kits, analyzing relevant risks and tailoring messaging on what it means to prepare for known risks and hazards
  • Aligning marketing strategies on the real risks and the best means of being prepared
  • Building relationships locally and lobbying colleges and universities for applied projects that offer real-world solutions to local risks

Other marketing can also greatly improve local preparedness. Encouraging programs at local schools and community groups and even naming or offering sponsorship on dikes and dams can increase awareness and incentivize discussion and around risk mitigation measures.