Human resources

Table of Contents

1. Topic pack - introduction
2. 2.1 Human Resource Planning - Notes
3. 2.1 Human resource planning - questions
4. 2.2 Organisational structure - notes
5. 2.2 Organisational structure - questions
6. 2.3 Communication - notes
7. 2.3 Communication - questions
8. 2.4 Leadership and management - notes
9. 2.4 Leadership and management - questions
10. 2.5 Motivation - notes
11. 2.5 Motivation - questions
12. 2.5 Motivation - simulations and activities
13. 2.6 Organisational and corporate cultures - notes (HL only)
14. 2.6 Organisational and corporate cultures - questions
15. 2.7 Employer and employee relations - notes (HL only)
16. 2.7 Employer and employee relations - questions
17. 2.8 Crisis management and contingency planning - notes
    1. Crisis management and contingency planning
18. 2.8 Crisis management and contingency planning - questions
19. Printable version

Crisis management and contingency planning

Crisis management is reactive rather than proactive. Managers respond to events, which threaten the business and could even lead to its closure. The managers can do little but minimise the potential damage to the business and it is likely to result in a rather autocratic approach. Every employee including the managers will have to be flexible and to accept that radical measures may be required.

There are three elements are common to most definitions of crisis:

1. A threat to the organization
2. The element of surprise
3. A short decision time.

Crises such as fire, damage to stock, illness of key staff or IT system failure can make it difficult or even impossible to carry out an organisation's normal day-to-day activities. The crisis may see the organisation losing important customers and at its worst, even forced to cease trading.

Crisis management often includes a strong focus on public relations to recover any damage to the organisation's public image and to assure stakeholders that recovery is underway. Unplanned events can have a devastating effect on small businesses.

Contingency planning - Crisis management and business continuity planning

Looking to the future can never be accurate. Things may be different to that which is expected. To reduce the risk of encountering a serious shock, firms carry out contingency planning. Contingency planning is a set of procedures applied in handling, containment, and resolution of an emergency in planned and coordinated steps. The organisation questions what might happen, identifies alternatives and examine what effects these may have in resolving the problem or minimising its effects. The purpose of contingency planning is to ensure that an organisation can continue with its activities, which is why contingency planning is often referred to a continuity planning.

Contingency planning prepares for:

• predictable and quantifiable situations
• situations for which there is advanced notice
• unexpected and often unwanted events.

Contingency planning uses simulations and computer models asking 'what happens if' questions. Firms may ask some of the following questions:

What happens if:

• sales are more or less than planned?
• costs are higher or lower than planned?
• salaries and wages are greater or lower than expected?
• our computer or energy system fails?
• there is a flood or a fire?

...and so on, the list may be endless!

The organisation has contingency plans for as many eventualities as it has examined. Surprises will still occur, but the chances of one occurring are reduced.

Firms need to constantly assess and reassess current methods and assumptions. They have to watch closely what is happening within the firm and outside in the market place and general external environment.