Crisis management Essay

Every organization that wishes to be successful and have a loyal customer base must prioritize crisis management. Crisis situations are inherently unexpected and come with no advance notice. This implies that it is crucial to always be prepared. Consider a company like Costco, one of the biggest membership warehouses that has employed people across the globe in its different branches. Costco’s primary goal is to give customers a convenient way to shop by offering a one-stop shop with discounted prices and exclusive membership services. They have a variety of products from appliances, Furniture, jewelry to food just to name a few, this variety makes the shopping experience pleasurable for their customers. Being a Multibillion organization, Costco is focused on remaining as the pricing authority with their competitive prices (Daft, 2015). Employee motivation and satisfaction are important to Costco. Therefore, they have made sure to compensate their employees well through payments and benefits, with 723 warehouses worldwide and an employee number of almost 218 thousand Costco is on top of their game in business.

Having such an Organization measures for crisis management are mandatory. Staying prepared for anything should be at the top of the company’s priorities as crisis in such an organization may mean a tremendous amount of loss and even deformation of the company’s reputable name and policies.

Program Management

I) Preparedness Policy

The disasters that can occur at Costco are numerous from fire outbreaks to earthquakes in some countries and even food poisoning in the food processing sector. With such risks, it is wise to have policies that prepare the company. The preparedness policies come up when the problem identified declared a menace and a potential risk for the organization either financially or Image wise. Costco has made sure to insure themselves against all forms of possible disaster. Educating all employees on the way out in case of a fire, how to make sure that the food is kept fresh for consumption, what to do and where to run to when there is an earthquake or what to do in case of theft. Making sure there are extinguishers and disaster management kits at bay that are easy to use. With such preparedness, it shows competence in dealing with business and lives.

II) Program Committee and Program Coordinator

Every program committee has a program coordinator who oversees and makes sure that there is understanding of the policies put forward by all who are under the organization. The committee is a product of employees who have the know-how on every aspect of the particular business. Such a protocol ensures proper input and undertakings for the preparedness policies set.

III) Program Administration

Administering of a program would mean dummy runs and drills for the employees to have an idea on how to be prepared in case of any disaster. The coordinator is meant to oversee program administration offer implementations and reviews when necessary; the organization should set aside funds for program administration.

B) Planning

I) Risk Assessment

It is highly recommended first to assess all the risks that an organization can fall prey to, In this way, the planning process is made easier and precise according to the specified risk.

II) Business Impact Analysis

Having an analysis on various risks and how they may impact the business in various ways. The BIA has a major role of outlining the cost of risks if they are to occur either in repairs of equipment, loss of employees or theft, in this way there is an allocation of finances to the risks that are more urgent and costly. The planning process highly relies on the BIA.

III) Hazard prevention and deterrence

Hazard prevention is where there are measures that can be put in place to ensure that few accidents take place (Islam & Ryan, 2015). Prevention assists in the improvement of safety at the workplace. Deterrence keeps theft at bay this is through proper security measures such as searches before entering the building and even proper fencing around the organization.

IV) Risk Mitigation

Options are created for the reduction of risks to the organization’s objectives and widen opportunities.

C) Implementation

I) Resource Management

After creating policies and the planning process has taken place it is time for implementation. Ensuring that there is a budget set aside for the Implementation of the policies made for the employees. (Daft, 2015) Proper resource management will ensure effective development of resources in case of an emergency.

II) Specific plans

Plans that are according to the risks that are there. Specific plans are for specific risks and cannot apply to the other.

III) Employee Assistance and Support

Providing employees with assistance in case of a disaster at work or in their lives should remain a prioritized goal for the organization. Support and assistance ensure that whatever the employee is going through does not affect their performance thus maintaining quality labor.

IV) Incident Management

The management of every incident in an organization is according to the specific plans that are in place for that particular risk or interruption. The preparedness of an organization is to the test in managing of incidences that are risky or emergencies.

V) Training

Training is for proper comprehension of what to do and what not to do in the case of a crisis in an organization.

D) Testing and Exercises

Drill exercises prove important in the preparedness process as this sets the trainees on an actual position of danger although planned. Drills help in the implementation of the training.

E) Program Improvement

I) Reviews and Corrective Actions

There may be times that the preparedness process is lacking in one way or the other. In such cases, reviews are made to strengthen the weak points, and the corrective action takes place. These ensure readiness and minimal damage in case of any disaster strikes.

References

Daft L. R., (2015). Management. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Islam, T. & Ryan, J. (2015). Hazard mitigation in emergency management. Amsterdam,

Netherlands: Elsevier Science.