Medium and Large Size Business Continuity & Risks in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - Research Paper Example

MEDIUM AND LARGE SIZE BUSINESS CONTINUITY & RISKS IN THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA By Student’s Nаmе Fаculty Dеpаrtmеnt 30 July, 2011 Medium and Large Size Business Continuity & Risks in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ABSTRACT This research study will deeply evaluate medium and large size business continuity & risks in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The specific study objectives are to critically investigate continuity management for business in the current economic climate, clearly identify risks management in communication style, to investigate the risks that results from the business communications style, to build case study about the communications style in the gulf region with the worlds given examples of how medium and large business and trades communicates with the world. Chapter one sets the framework of this research. It presents the study background, problem statement, study objectives, research questions, scope of the study, and significance of the study. Chapter two of this paper reviews literature as an account of the knowledge and ideas that have been established by accredited scholars and experts in the field of study. It is guided by the study objectives identified in the first chapter. The chapter explores on medium and large size businesses in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, their descriptions, continuity and their possible reasons for failure as well as the various risks involved and the management of these risks. The chapter contains a definition of large and medium sized enterprises. Chapter three presents methodology to be used to select the sample, from which research will be carried out and methods of selection of respondents. It also explains the methods that will be used to collect process and analyze data. The identified methods to be used for data collection include questionnaires and interviews. The paper also presents anticipated challenges during the actual research study. These include, time and financial constraints as well as difficulty in acquiring information from the respondents. CHAPTER ONE 1.0 Introduction Business continuity is a vital aspect in the successful running of medium and large business enterprises. As more and more businesses in different parts of the world and inclusive of those in Saudi Arabia continue to experience huge losses and suffer severe casualties that result from accidental, natural or natural disasters, the issue of business continuity is no longer a concern of just the department of Information Technology but for the entire business as a whole (Jacques & Rossouw 2004). There is a need for medium and large enterprises to take all necessary steps to ensure that they safeguard their enterprises, people, property, equipment as well as other assets as a way of ensuring that are well prepared for the occurrence of any disasters. This can be done through effective Business Continuity Management (BCM). Business Continuity Management refers to the process of ensuring that service and operations provision within companies is uninterrupted or remains continuous. It is a continuous process with a number of complementary but different elements and which entails the disaster recovery, enterprise recovery, enterprise resumption, making of contingency plans as well as crisis management. Planning for BCM can be defined as the process that focuses on ensuring that business processes are continuous. BCM makes a key part of CEM (Comprehensive Emergency Management) which forms a key factor in the survival of a company during and even after disruptions (Savage, 2002). It is through this that the enterprises will also ensure that they are capable of resuming to normal business operations within the shortest time possible. If not prepared, the occurrence of any slight unexpected disaster can be disastrous in terms of business and have serious consequences (Bandyopadhyay et al. 1999). Implementation of business continuity has now become an almost mandatory undertaking for businesses to maintain competitive advantage and consumer confidence during times of uncertainties. This paper explores on business continuity and risks within medium and large enterprises in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It looks at the implementation and role of Business Continuity Management and Risks within the various enterprises in KSA. 1.1 Research Aim This project aims at investigating business continuity and risks within medium and large enterprises in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The specific objectives of the study include: 1. To Critically investigate continuity management for business in the current economic climate 2. To investigate the risks that results from the business communications style 3. To build case studies about the communications style in the gulf region with the worlds giving examples of how medium and large sized businesses and trades communicates with the worlds 4. To critically evaluate successful medium and large business without the BC Plan 5. To experiment and evaluate the benefits of BCM&R in KSA? 1.2 Research Questions 1. Has the implementation of Business Continuity Management and Risk in medium and large enterprises in KSA been beneficial? 2. How do business communication styles within businesses affect business continuity and risks? 3. How Does BCM differ between large and medium enterprises? 2. CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 Business Continuity Management Business continuity Management refers to the process of ensuring that there is continuity in business operation and service provision within a business during and after the occurrence of a disaster (Savage, 2002). BCM can be said to have a broad meaning. In most cases, it is used as a term that is all encompassing and that describes an enterprise wide and integrated process which needs to include a number of elements such as accident prevention, business recovery, analysis of the impacts n the business, business planning, contingency planning, crisis communication and management, mitigation planning, disaster recovery, risk control, financing and management as well as emergency response an management (Rothstein, 2002). 2.1 BCM planning Planning of BCM requires an enterprise to first of all undertake a risk analysis and a company impact analysis or assessment. After the assessments, the next undertaking entails deciding on the necessary measures to be lined out to prevent the various risks from occurring in reality as well as to reduce the extent of damage incase a disaster occurs (Savage, 2002). Though not every risk is preventable, different steps can be undertaken to reduce the likelihood of a particular disaster from occurring. It is with this realization that large and medium enterprises are now embarking on the implementation of BCM to shield their businesses from the various unexpected disasters. 2.3 BCM Implementation in Business Enterprises The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has recorded a significant rise in the implementation of BCM as a key to ensuring that they gain continued competitive advantage, level of profitability and productivity (Bashir, 1997). In a previous research which focused on “Trends in Business Continuity and Risk Management” that was conducted in various organizations that focus on business organization in Saudi Arabia, in accordance with the respective business managers in charge of continuity, the said organizations are required to manage the processes of their business continuity with additional collaboration in the organizations. This should be put in such a way that it completes, puts to test and evenly distributes the business continuity process through regulations and the requirements of the customers. In this study, most of the countries which were put to question spoke of regulations from the state or from the industries that had a direct effect on the initiatives of business continuity (Continuity Central pandemic planning survey results 2005). The main rationale which seems to control the process of Business Continuity and Risk Management is “the danger of being interrupted and the importance of a fast response which has become manifested into some developments of the 21st century, some corresponding increases in the requirements of the regulations and some mandate from the customers fro there to be actionable plans for business continuity which should be in place before any business is taken into consideration. In this era, business continuity is not taken as a necessity but an essential”. Other than having this knowledge and importance of planning for business continuity, most organizations are not taking the warning signs into consideration. As an example, in the year 2005, the “Association of Financial Professionals” surveyed over 1000 professionals in the financial field. Amongst the surveyed participants, over half of the organizations did not have a plan for business continuity plans; a quarter of them had done some tests for the continuity plans. All these factors were mainly due to unavailability of resources. The most painstaking question is however the mode in which the businesses could be persuaded towards creation, planning and testing of continuity strategies for their businesses. Some other critical focus which should be in business is focus on continuity as compared to recovery from disasters. In disaster recovery, there will be a utilization of less radical problems in operations (Continuity Central pandemic planning survey results 2005). . The additional use for “disaster recovery” makes use of more considerations from the human perspective due to the fact that lack of meeting the needs of the employees, there is a risk of not having the required human force in case a disaster strikes. In this case, some considerations which should be put in place are nearness to the site of normal operation, comfort and the availability of the common services such as the internet that are pertinent for day to day operations. Other than this, an Increase in mobility in the workforce is playing an additional role in improving business continuity (DiLossie & Fradin (2006). According to Bandyopadhyay et al, (1999) an increasingly big number of people telecommuting calls for an additional need to have organizations’ access to them still put in place just as before. There is prioritizing of threats, detection from intrusion, and viruses in circumstances when there is remote access to the workplace. As an alternative to the telecommuters, availability of technical support that can guarantee quality is an issue. 3. CHAPTER THREE 3.0 Introduction This chapter gives a presentation of the methodology used for this study. The chapter is inclusive of elements such as research design, sampling framework and technique, data collection and recording, research analysis, study imitations and ethical considerations. 3.1 Research Design This is a descriptive research which seeks to evaluate medium and large size business continuity & risks in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Both quantitative and qualitative designs will be used to help in creating a deeper understanding of the research topic. The study will be carried out using face to face interviews. Percentages and numbers of the various responses obtained from the respondents are going to be calculated and then presented in tabular form to ensure ease in computation. Qualitatively, interview guides are going to be created for the key informants. Questionnaires are also going to be provided to the various respondents. Sampling Technique Information and data for this research will be collected from a sample of 20 respondents. Four companies, 2 large and 2 medium, from the city of Riyadh which is the capital city of Saudi Arabia have been randomly selected. The respondents will include a manager and four staff members from each of the selected business enterprises. 3.2 Data Collection This research study will use secondary and primary data. Collection of primary data will be done using questionnaires and face to face interviews while the collection of secondary data will be done through the analysis of documents in form of books, reports, manuals, journals, newspapers and internet sources. This will allow for the reduction of data errors. 3.2.1 Primary and Secondary Researches Primary data will be used for this study and will be collected using face to face interviews. Reduction of data error will be done by ensuring that the questionnaires are effectively and efficiently prepare, are easy to hear and simple to understand. The Prepared questionnaires will also be those that do not use value laden or leading works to ensure that there is no internal bias. The interviewers will also be impartial and professionally conducted. The used secondary data sources will include peer reviewed journals, books, reports as well as other publications in the internet. 3.3 Data Recording The collected data and obtained information will be recorded using audio tapes, information sheets and write ups for further referencing in the subsequent stages of the project. 3.4 Research Analysis Obtained findings for this research will be analyzed using bar graphs and charts for quantitative data. The analysis of qualitative data will be done using comparative analysis of the real data information collected with the expected outcomes developed before the actual research undertakings. 3.4.1 Research Analysis Resources For large amount of data, the analysis process will require the use of computer aided tools such as excel spread sheets, inferences and measures of central tendency such as mean, median. 3.5 Ethical Considerations The undertaking of any research study requires that the researcher maintain a set of ethical standards. It is for this reason that this research study will be conducted with the various ethical considerations in mind. One major consideration that thus research will seek to uphold is ensuring that all information collected from the respondents remains confidential and private. Another consideration of the research is that of informed consent that requires the researcher to ensure that respondents and stakeholders have all the necessary requirements relate to the study. Such information includes the aim of the study, research benefits and the various risks involved. Other important considerations that the researcher will need to make relate to anonymity and responsibility. Anonymity requires that the respondents remain anonymous. The study will be executed in such a way that it maintains the highest of standards and that thse standard are strictly followed. It is important that the researcher ensure that he remains responsible of issues related to the various firms and the concerned individuals or respondents. References Bandyopadhyay, K. & Mykytyn, P. & Mykytyn, K. (1999). “A frame work for integrated risk management in information technology”. Management Decision, 37 (5): 437-444. Bashir, G. (1997) ‘Competitiveness of Saudi Industries: Manufacturing Costs and Productivity’ Economic Bulletin 26, Saudi Industrial Development Fund. Continuity Central pandemic planning survey results (2005). Continuity Central. DiLossie, B. & Fradin, J. (2006). Lessons Learned from Hurricane Katrina: How to Maintain Operations during a Natural Disaster. PA: Sungard Availability Services. Jacques, B. & Rossouw V. (2004). "A cyclic approach to business continuity planning". Information Management & Computer Security, 12 (4): 328-337. Rothstein, P.J. (2002, October). Averting Disaster: Moving Toward Business Continuity Management. HP WORLD Magazine. Retrieved May 30, 2011, from http://www.servicelevelbooks.com/articles/averting.html Savage, M. (2002). “Business continuity planning”. Work Study, 51(5):254-261 Read More