Organisational Resilience: Planning for Uncertainty
Latest press releasesBusinesses and institutions cannot afford to ignore the recent chaos caused by flooding, bird flu outbreaks and terrorist scares together with the real possibility of the disruption of supply networks closing down production, stranding communities and strangling transport networks, neither can business afford to be taken by surprise by the soaring cost of fuel or industrial action at home or abroad.
The UK Cabinet Office has awarded Dr Bridgette Sullivan-Taylor of Warwick Business School's Strategy, Organisational Learning and Resilience Research Unit (SOLAR) funding for a three-year study to extend her research on how organisations respond to and deal with the threat and actuality of extreme events. The research is supported by The Cabinet Office, Advantage West Midlands, The Confederation of British Industry and The University of Warwick.
Bridgette explains the aim of the study, "It is no use waiting until the water is lapping around your ankles or your fleet of vehicles has no fuel before your organisation decides to develop a plan. The research project, Assessing Organisational Resilience: The Capacity of Organisations to cope with the Threat or Actuality of Extreme Events, will seek to identify ways in which organisational resilience - in both the public and the private sectors - might be embedded and enhanced, not least through the transfer of best practice within and between sectors."
The project will build on her recent ground-breaking research, funded by the Leverhulme Trust, which examined the intricate inter-relationships between international tourism and terrorism, and how managers in the travel and tourism sector cope with the uncertainties caused by the threat of terrorism. The findings have now been used in workshops at 11 Downing Street, and are published in a Chatham House and Smith Institute Joint Policy of Response Publication, Britain and Security: Threats; Policy Responses; Technology and the Private Sector; and Values in Security.
The first of a nationwide series of high level roundtables with senior decision makers and managers was held at Birmingham International Airport on the 10th of June. This exclusive invitation-only roundtable event explored the important issue of organisational resilience with senior representatives from strategic companies in areas such as utilities, transport and finance from the Midlands region. The Midlands in particular has been hard hit in recent years by large scale flooding which affected more than 450 businesses and 184,000 households at an estimated cost of £372 million. The threat of soaring fuel and food prices and economic recession also look likely to pose further challenges for organisations within the region. Early findings from the research indicate that extreme events cannot be dealt with by individual organisations alone and therefore it is essential to develop co-operation and inter-organisational resilience with external networks to guarantee continued business success in turbulent times.
Organisations within the Midlands are now invited to participate in a second event on Friday 27th June 2008 which will be held in The Boardroom, overlooking the pitch, at The Ricoh Arena, home to Coventry City Football Club. This event is aimed at both senior and managerial representatives from small to medium enterprises through to large strategic businesses within the region to develop their organisational resilience capabilities.
By participating in the research, organisations will gain access to a network of organisations within the region with a shared interest in developing knowledge and capabilities in the area of organisational resilience, participate in research which will inform both policy and practice, and be eligible to attend knowledge-sharing workshops and have access to reports where the findings of the project will be shared to help inform best practice. The aim of this series of roundtable events is to help better understand how organisations can enhance their ability to be resilient to extreme events.
Further events are taking place during July, September and October in Birmingham, London, Manchester, and Leeds.
These events are free to attend so prior registration for the event is essential.
The UK Cabinet Office has awarded Dr Bridgette Sullivan-Taylor of Warwick Business School's Strategy, Organisational Learning and Resilience Research Unit (SOLAR) funding for a three-year study to extend her research on how organisations respond to and deal with the threat and actuality of extreme events. The research is supported by The Cabinet Office, Advantage West Midlands, The Confederation of British Industry and The University of Warwick.
Bridgette explains the aim of the study, "It is no use waiting until the water is lapping around your ankles or your fleet of vehicles has no fuel before your organisation decides to develop a plan. The research project, Assessing Organisational Resilience: The Capacity of Organisations to cope with the Threat or Actuality of Extreme Events, will seek to identify ways in which organisational resilience - in both the public and the private sectors - might be embedded and enhanced, not least through the transfer of best practice within and between sectors."
The project will build on her recent ground-breaking research, funded by the Leverhulme Trust, which examined the intricate inter-relationships between international tourism and terrorism, and how managers in the travel and tourism sector cope with the uncertainties caused by the threat of terrorism. The findings have now been used in workshops at 11 Downing Street, and are published in a Chatham House and Smith Institute Joint Policy of Response Publication, Britain and Security: Threats; Policy Responses; Technology and the Private Sector; and Values in Security.
The first of a nationwide series of high level roundtables with senior decision makers and managers was held at Birmingham International Airport on the 10th of June. This exclusive invitation-only roundtable event explored the important issue of organisational resilience with senior representatives from strategic companies in areas such as utilities, transport and finance from the Midlands region. The Midlands in particular has been hard hit in recent years by large scale flooding which affected more than 450 businesses and 184,000 households at an estimated cost of £372 million. The threat of soaring fuel and food prices and economic recession also look likely to pose further challenges for organisations within the region. Early findings from the research indicate that extreme events cannot be dealt with by individual organisations alone and therefore it is essential to develop co-operation and inter-organisational resilience with external networks to guarantee continued business success in turbulent times.
Organisations within the Midlands are now invited to participate in a second event on Friday 27th June 2008 which will be held in The Boardroom, overlooking the pitch, at The Ricoh Arena, home to Coventry City Football Club. This event is aimed at both senior and managerial representatives from small to medium enterprises through to large strategic businesses within the region to develop their organisational resilience capabilities.
By participating in the research, organisations will gain access to a network of organisations within the region with a shared interest in developing knowledge and capabilities in the area of organisational resilience, participate in research which will inform both policy and practice, and be eligible to attend knowledge-sharing workshops and have access to reports where the findings of the project will be shared to help inform best practice. The aim of this series of roundtable events is to help better understand how organisations can enhance their ability to be resilient to extreme events.
Further events are taking place during July, September and October in Birmingham, London, Manchester, and Leeds.
These events are free to attend so prior registration for the event is essential.
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