Supply chain risk and SME business continuity strategies in the food industry during COVID-19 pandemic

PurposeThis study aimed to (1) identify supply chain risks faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in food businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic and (2) investigate the business continuity management (BCM) strategies employed by organisations during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachSemi-structured interviews were conducted, involving eight SMEs in the Malaysian food industry. Their responses were analysed using a thematic analysis.FindingsThe thematic analysis indicated that supply risks, demand risks, operational risks, logistics risks and financial risks were amongst the challenges that the respondents faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also provided evidence which showed the importance of flexibility, redundancy and collaboration to avoid or reduce the impact of such risks.Originality/valueThis paper fills the void in the literature by exploring the BCM practices amongst SMEs in the food businesses of a developing country, during the COVID-19 disruptions. Previous studies in the area had mainly focused on large organisations.

Evaluation of the Implementation of Business Continuity Management Using COBIT 2019 Framework in Public Sector

The research is based on the global struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic, where countries are facing challenges in managing the flow of essential goods, including medical devices, medicines, and consumer goods. In this regard, the Indonesian National Single Window System (SINSW) can play a critical role in managing the import and export of goods required to combat the pandemic. The experience of the pandemic has emphasized the need for SINSW to enhance its capacity to meet demands in normal and emergency situations. Therefore, Lembaga National Single Window (LNSW), a unit of the Ministry of Finance, needs to develop and evaluate its business continuity governance to meet domestic needs and business requirements. To measure the level of business continuity management capability, this study utilizes the COBIT 2019 framework, specifically the DSS (Deliver, Service, Support) 04 domain. The research aims to address the problem of measuring the level of business continuity management capability and providing recommendations for improving LNSW's business continuity governance. Based on the assessment, the DSS04-Managed Continuity process capability value owned by LNSW has only partially achieved level 1 process capability, and further activities and work products are required to fulfill the next level of achievement. The study is expected to contribute to LNSW by providing a mapping of the maturity level of business continuity management and recommendations for improvement based on the evaluation results. By enhancing the level of business continuity management capability, it is anticipated that the quality of public services will improve. Moreover, the author's work paper, which utilizes the COBIT 2019 framework to assess the level of capability, can be utilized by LNSW as a self-assessment tool for regularly evaluating business continuity management and as a reference for future researchers in this field. © 2023, Success Culture Press. All rights reserved.

An opinion paper on requirement for a practitioner's handbook designed for business continuity and resilience in government: a South African context

PurposeThis paper aims to find a suitable structure for a practitioner's handbook that addresses the structural elements of the business continuity (BC) practice.Design/methodology/approachThe case study using the mixed method, quantitative with a questionnaire and conceptual research approach was what has been chosen. The four steps to the research process are outlined: one, choosing the topic, two, collecting relevant literature, three, identifying specific variables and four, generating a structure. The design brought on by years of experience, should be put into an organised system and handbook that can be reused, without having to reinvent the wheel.FindingsA BC handbook should be as relevant to the executives and management as to their employees. By adopting a BC practice in a government department, state-owned entity, agency or municipality. Assurance will be ascertained for reliable, improved service delivery and reputation with much less interruption. Therefore a handbook with a "cradle to the grave” BC approach should outline, with examples of standards, awareness, policy, BC programme plan, BC structures, business impact and risk analysis, strategy, budgets, scorecards, monitoring and evaluation, recovery and BC plans, together with the audit and an International Standards Organization (ISO) 22301 certification process.Research limitations/implicationsThe research was limited to literature, questionnaires and identified variables pertaining to BC management (BCM) in the South African Government.Practical implicationsThe implications of the case study is that out of the variables identified and the relevant literature and standards, a structure for a relevant post-COVID-19 government practitioner's handbook could be made available.Social implicationsThe use of a BCM handbook for government would assist in the continuation of services through manmade and natural disasters. The service to the citizen, including but not limited to water, electricity, sanitation, medical and health services, and the food supply chain are just a few areas that can be positively impacted upon by good BCM. By implication the reliance of government structure are treated most in time of disasters as experienced through the two year period of the COVID-19 pandemic.Originality/valueThe government departments in South Africa do not have or have not implemented BCM due to the lack of clear guidelines. The COVID-19 pandemic however had accelerated the requirement for a top down BCM approach. To ensure that the scope of BCM is not limited, the possibility of having a set handbook for the government practitioner will ensure that service quality remains intact. Such a handbook related to government BCM practice is long outstanding.

Role of Talent Management in Business Continuity

Talent Management plays a crucial role to support the business continuity and empower the most important asset for the company - its people. The role that Talent Management has played was highlighted in different aspects across the organization, starting from developing competent HR team and HR department structure that can influence company culture by taking an active approach in this regard. The journey started by working with the executives and stakeholders across the business to evaluate the current company culture, assess potential gaps or opportunities, and create a strategic plan to align the organization's culture with its values and goals. Moreover, a deliberate building of core and supplementary HR systems serving the business strategy while respecting culture readiness has taken place. This started off with developing leadership development programs, conducting a competency management system for better training and skills development, relying on assessment tools in recruitment and using these tools in the on-boarding, knowledge sharing approach, creating a performance management culture and working on continuous development and improvement. The Leadership Development Program was achieved on 3 phases: Assessment phase, Development phase and re-assessment phase. One of the main objectives that we tried to focus on while implementing the leadership development program was to find employees who are potential leaders and nurture them early enough. In addition, it was crucial to identify a Leadership Competency Profile to have a clear, compelling vision of how the skills we were building in the leadership development program connect to the leadership road map in the company. In addition, and in the light of Covid-19 and the absence of Employee Training in 2020, the HR department came out with an initiative to carry out internal knowledge sharing workshops across the company. These workshops aimed at increasing employees' awareness with the different functions across the company in addition to increasing the level of engagement, communication, and presentation skills for employees. There is always a need to measure where we are and the progress done so far to know where we want to be and adjust the process accordingly. Therefore throughout all of these processes and programs, different feedback surveys were conducted to take necessary action plans. This helped in getting all employees onboard with us. Ultimately the alignment that was made between the Talent Management and the overall company's business strategy resulted in the company's ability to maintain a competitive advantage. A huge progress was made but the process continues to sustain this role. Copyright © 2023, Society of Petroleum Engineers.

Pausing the Pandemic: Understanding and Managing Traveler and Community Spread of COVID-19 in Hawaii.

In the absence of a vaccine, nonpharmaceutical interventions such as social distancing and travel reductions were the only strategies for slowing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using survey data from Hawaii (n = 22,200) collected in March through May of 2020 at the onset of the pandemic, the differences between traveler spreaders who brought the disease into the state and community spreaders were investigated. In addition to describing the demographic attributes and comparing them with attributes of those who were vulnerable to COVID-19, logit models explaining travel behaviors were developed and tested. Traveler spreaders were likely to be male, younger, and returning students. Community spreaders were more likely to be male, essential workers, first responders, and medical personnel at the highest risk of exposure. Using spatial statistics, clusters and hotspot locations of high-risk individuals were mapped. As transportation researchers are in a position to combine their critical analytical capabilities and experience with relevant databases on mobility and the spread of infectious diseases, this analysis could support efforts to respond to and slow the spread of the pandemic.

Ten Takeaways from the COVID-19 Pandemic for Transportation Planners.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant challenges but also unprecedented opportunities for transportation researchers and practitioners. In this article, the major lessons and gaps in knowledge for those working in the transportation sector are identified, including the following: (1) integration between public health and transportation; (2) technology to support contact tracing and tracking of travelers; (3) focus on vulnerable, at-risk operators, patrons, and underserved members of society; (4) re-engineering of travel demand models to support social distancing, quarantine, and public health interventions; (5) challenges with Big Data and information technologies; (6) trust relationships between the general public, government, private sector, and others in disaster management; (7) conflict management during disasters; (8) complexities of transdisciplinary knowledge and engagement; (9) demands for training and education; and (10) transformative change to support community resilience. With a focus on transportation planning and community resilience, the lessons from the pandemic need to be shared and customized for different systems, services, modalities, and users. While many of the interventions during the pandemic have been based on public health, the management, response, recovery, adaptation, and transformation of transportation systems resulting from the crisis require multi-disciplinary, multi-jurisdictional communications and coordination, and resource sharing. Further research to support knowledge to action is needed.

Applications of Industry 4.0 for Pandemic Responses and Business Continuity: A TOE-DCV Integrated Approach

The fourth industrial revolution, also known as Industry 4.0, covers a broad range of technologies. The applications of Industry 4.0 help in interconnectivity as well as automation process and support seamless operations. Not many studies have taken place to examine how different applications of Industry 4.0 could help in turbulent situations or in crises like COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, there is a research gap. In such background, the aim of this study is to investigate how different applications of Industry 4.0 could help to respond to such turbulent situation and help in business continuity and sustainability of operations. The present study develops a theoretical model combining technology–organization–environment framework and dynamic capability view to examine the role of Industry 4.0 applications for business continuity and sustainability of business operations especially for managing any turbulent situation like COVID-19 pandemic. The theoretical model was validated using partial least square structural equation modeling technique considering 338 respondents from different industries. The study found that there is a greater need to adopt Industry 4.0 applications for managing business operations during any turbulent situation. The study also found that there is a significant moderating impact of corporate governance in adopting Industry 4.0 applications to manage business operations especially during crisis. IEEE

Adapting Digital Environment to Sustain Operations Remotely

Oil and gas remote operations (RO) enabled by automation and digital solutions are reducing the number of people required to work in the wellsite;many subject matter experts can now complete their daily tasks from the safety of the office in town. We have been transitioning to these new ways of working for some time, and the progress has been greatly accelerated to help ensure business continuity for customers during COVID-19 restrictions, allowing high numbers of wellsite operatives the freedom to work from home. For the Oil & Gas companies that have experimented with more technology, the results have been incredible. Digital transformation has finally hit the industry and it's taking off to meet sustainable goal of upstream companies, this transformation is one such measure by which these goals can be approached. Despite the global availability of technology to handle analytical task from a safe distance, substantial drilling activities have been carried out traditionally across globe. Such traditional drilling operations were carried out in Thailand where client and SLB work together in fast paced factory drilling environment where an oil well can drill and complete within 7 days for 2 strings (2-sections only) 2400-2600 m in onshore operation which requires experienced people to monitor and execute tasks. To support such operation from town i.e., remotely with systematic monitoring by skilled people, one requires to adapt digitization. This paper demonstrates the ability of SLB to adapt the digital environment by introducing "Remote Operation Center" setup enabling to help client achieve their sustainable goals within budget and provided an alternate solution to sustain operations in COVID-19 pandemic. Remote Operations is the ability to operate a system or a machine at a distance;one can handle multiple operations from a safe environment of office in town using technology. It unfolds analytical task & physical task;the former is handed over to Remote Operation Center and physical task is left at rig crew. The Remote Operation Center execute both Directional Drilling (DD) and Measurement & Logging While Drilling (MLWD) services at the well site, from town. Executing Directional Drilling Remote Operation was more challenging. RO moves industry towards future and pushes all other traditional players to work on sustainable goals while adapting to digital environment. On site presence of crew was reduced by 50% while maintaining same pace of operations with better data analysis. Copyright 2023, Society of Petroleum Engineers.

Business interruption management in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic for small and medium-sized enterprises in Slovakia

From the beginning of 2020 to the end of 2021, a nationwide survey was conducted to examine business interruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic and to identify the impact of the pandemic on SMEs in the Slovak Republic. It also focused on identifying areas such as risk management with BCM, and crisis management within individual enterprises. The survey was carried out using a questionnaire distributed to SMEs operating in the country. Based on the questions from the questionnaire, four research hypotheses were developed. Based on the results of our investigation, we found that enterprises cannot correctly assess their capability level and manage risks effectively, potentially exposing themselves to further threats arising from such a relationship. There is a correlation between the business sector and the extent to which an enterprise has been affected by a pandemic. Enterprises with implemented risk management areas had operations halted for shorter periods than enterprises without implementation. There is a relationship between business sectors and the extent to which they were affected by the pandemic. The discussion concludes that the pandemic posed a type of threat for which several SMEs were unprepared. At the same time, no established risk minimization procedures would address this issue. Effective implementation of risk management as prevention or crisis management as response and application of BCM principles is one of how enterprises could prepare for risks and crises and increase their resilience.

Telework as a Means of Organizational Identity Change: Investigating Japanese Collectivist Culture in an ICT Company

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous companies have implemented telework to balance business continuity with employees' safety. However, telework was not a widespread phenomenon in Japan until recently. Why is a geographically decentralized workstyle not as widespread in Japan as in other nations? In a previous study, based on collected samples from 529 Japanese companies, we used statistical analyses and clarified that the communication style aligned with Japanese collectivism seriously hinders telework. The present study used qualitative analysis to investigate how the communication style associated with Japanese collectivist culture hinders the introduction of telework. Finally, we concluded that if a non-Western cultural company introduces telework, it should remove the negative aspects of the communication style associated with collectivist culture to bring about organizational change that leads to a new organizational identity. © 2022 IEEE Computer Society. All rights reserved.

A business retrieval model using scenario planning and analytics for life during and after the pandemic crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic crisis has fundamentally changed the way we live and work forever. The business sector is forecasting and formulating different scenarios associated with the impact of the pandemic on its employees, customers, and suppliers. Various business retrieval models are under construction to cope with life after the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis. However, the proposed plans and scenarios are static and cannot address the dynamic pandemic changes worldwide. They also have not considered the peripheral in-between scenarios to propel the shifting paradigm of businesses from the existing condition to the new one. Furthermore, the scenario drivers in the current studies are generally centered on the economic aspects of the pandemic with little attention to the social facets. This study aims to fill this gap by proposing scenario planning and analytics to study the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on large-scale information technology-led Companies. The primary and peripheral scenarios are constructed based on a balanced set of business continuity and employee health drivers. Practical action plans are formulated for each scenario to devise plausible responses. Finally, a damage management framework is developed to cope with the mental disorders of the employees amid the disease.Copyright © 2021 The Author(s)

Investigating the role of business continuity during COVID-19: an empirical examination

This article investigates the role of business continuity practices during the COVID-19 outbreak in raising financial performance and supply chain disaster readiness. To do so, 322 organisations in France were surveyed in Spring 2020 and collected data were analysed through structural equation modelling using Amos 23. The results support both organisational information processing (OIPT) and resource-based view (RBV) theories regarding business continuity practices in the current health crisis. Furthermore, the findings indicate that firms that improve their supply chain disaster readiness are better at enhancing their financial performance. Some unexpected aspects of the results are also discussed such as the lack of negative impact of COVID-19 outbreak on business continuity practices. © 2023 Kedge Business School.

Operations Sustainability During COVID-19 Pandemic

The paper aims to describe the experiences, challenges faced, and lessons learnt on how The Company Well Services division is managing the risks associate to COVID-19. The global COVID-19 pandemic spread in late 2019 and turned into one of the biggest challenges facing all industries including the oil and gas industry- in decades. The most challenging aspect of COVID-19 is its contagion rate, and its ability to spread from both non-symptomatic and symptomatic people to others who are in close contact through respiratory droplets, by direct contact with infected persons, or by contact with contaminated objects and surfaces. Today, we must consider this new reality into business continuity planning and take all necessary precautions to mitigate its spread within the organization. As the health and safety of the employees and contractors is paramount to the Company and based on the Company commitment to provide better service quality to its clients, a thorough emergency response system that includes precaution measures to help fighting against COVID-19 and its potential to negatively impact the business was created. Furthermore, The Company COVID-19 Management Standard set the minimum requirements, to manage the risks associate to the COVID-19. A Crisis Management Team was formed to oversee the implementation of COVID-19 decisions and raise awareness within the Company. All field personnel were required to comply to COVID-19 precautions during operations. With the implementation of new procedures, we were able to maintain the lowest confirmed case numbers among all the companies in our operational sector. Though it was challenging at the beginning for employees to comply, the new requirements have become the normal standard today. These new measures focus on the importance of employee health and safety when working through COVID-19 pandemic and has helped to educate people on the importance of following health and safety procedures as way of life for everyone while maintaining the Company Operational Sustainability. Copyright © 2022, International Petroleum Technology Conference.

Status of Industrial Complex Activity Explained by Air Quality: Central Thailand

Resilience in business continuity of an entire industrial complex has direct local socioeconomic impact;however, there are few methods available for objective assessment of its status. This study investigated whether change in air quality could explain the state of economic activity in an industrial complex. Concentrations of PM2.5 and NO2 above several industrial complexes in central Thailand were extracted using the Google Earth Engine™ and analyzed to examine their temporal characteristics in relation to decline in business activity caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Results confirmed that industrial complexes whose activities were diminished by the pandemic showed concurrent trends of reduction in each pollutant, proving that the concentration of airborne substances has potential to reveal the level of activity of industrial complexes. To enhance the application potential of the proposed method, further study should investigate specific causal inferences by extracting the characteristics of other airborne substances, and consider industrial complexes that include a greater number of companies and major industries. © 2023 IEEE.

The educational outcomes of an online pilot workshop in CBRNe emergencies

Background: In the past 20 years, humanity, particularly in the Middle East, has experienced three outbreaks of coronavirus disease, restricting our ordinary activities. In addition to the growing risk of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive incidents, discussing an alternative to the usual refresher or first-time face-to-face disaster preparedness education is necessary. This study aimed to evaluate the participants' educational outcomes following their participation in the "HazMat/CBRNe in the context of mass gatherings"online pilot workshop, which used PowerPoint presentations, a remotely facilitated tabletop exercise, and videos. Methods and Analysis: This was a retrospective quantitative analysis study based on the participants' pre- and post-workshop session 1 multiple choice assessment scores and their evaluation results. Result(s): Although it was based on a small number of participants, the implemented workshop helped accomplish the participants' educational outcomes. Conclusion(s): This study demonstrated that this online workshop helped fulfil the participants' educational needs and familiarize them with the concept of readiness and preparedness for CBRNe threats in mass gatherings;hence, it should be conducted again for other participants. The increasing worldwide use of CBRN agents in industries and bioterrorism heightens the need to ensure appropriate healthcare workers' readiness through practical, innovative continuous professional development tools in times of pandemics.Copyright © 2022 Farhat, Laughton, Joseph, Abougalala, Dhiab, Alinier, licensee HBKU Press.

Administrative Reforms in the Ghanaian Public Services for Government Business Continuity During the COVID-19 Crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions to public service delivery but heightened citizens demand for services. We examined public sector reforms implemented in the Ghanian public sector to ensure public service continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using content analysis and key informant interviews we found that reforms such as flexible working schedule, redesign of offices, directorates, and installations of equipment, online monitoring and assessment of targets, and conducting services online were instrumental in ensuring the continuity of government business. We recommend that public sector managers should allocate adequate resources to digital-based public sector reforms to better prepare for wicked transboundary human threats such as Covid-19.

Remote Operations and Digital Transformation: A Solution for Business Continuity During Covid-19 Pandemic

Mubadala Petroleum conducts a fast-paced drilling program in the Gulf of Thailand, where rapid response resolutions are often required. This paper demonstrates the Remote Operation (RO) approach, which is an integrated approach comprised of people, software, network, and technology to transform operations, and moves analytical activities to safer office-based environments (Figure 1). The approach provides a high level of performance, leveraging global domain expertise, real-time collaboration, data visualization techniques, and intelligent planning within the restrictive context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Copyright © 2022, Offshore Technology Conference.

The influence of profitability and company growth toward going concern audit opinion on property companies in indonesia

The COVID-19 pandemic that has hit Indonesia since last year has had an impact on the economy and business continuity of companies in Indonesia. Auditors tend to issue a going concern opinion when they doubt the continuity of the company business being audited, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to preliminary studies, a company's financial condition and growth tend to influence auditors' opinions. Therefore, this study aims to examine the factors influencing the issuance of going concern opinion by auditors, especially financial factors such as profitability and company growth. Data were collected from the financial statement of manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange from 2018 to 2020. The test tool used to determine the influence of independent variables on the dependent variable is the logistic regression. The results showed that the company's profitability influences auditor's going-concern opinion and company's growth do not influence auditors' going-concern opinion. This is because during the pandemic, many property companies hampered in continuing development, thereby reducing the company's revenues and profits, which had an impact on the company's hesitation to continue its business. This study is expected to provide information to users of financial statements that the auditor will give a signal to users of financial statements if there are doubts about the viability of the company in the form of giving a going-concern opinion. © 2022 ACM.

Business Continuity Management Framework In Electronic System Provider (ESP) Startup Company

COVID-19 pandemic forces startup companies in Indonesia to change their work system from working in the office to work from home system, caused instability in various aspects, including the process of economic. To ensure the continuity of a company's business, business continuity management is an important requirement to be owned by a medium-sized company and above. To overcome this problem, a proper business continuity management framework need to be designed and applied in a startup in Indonesia. This study uses several references from researchers who discuss in detailed manner related to business continuity management, while also refer to several international standards such as ISO 27001 annex 17 which related to business continuity, ISO 27005 which related to risk assessment, and ISO 22301 which related to the business continuity process. Plan do check action (PDCA) approach is used in this research to wrap the process. The results of this study are quite in line with expectations with the application of the newly designed business continuity management (BCM) framework in a startup company in Indonesia, which reduce about 42% of the risk level from before. Moreover, during the drill test, adoption of BCM framework shows successful result with 1 hour 27 minutes, significantly below defined maximum tolerable period of disruption (MTPD) and recovery time objective (RTO). In addition, qualitatively the company has a guarantee of business continuity and good governance in order to maintain the reputation and improve the quality of the startup company. © 2023, Success Culture Press. All rights reserved.

Halliburton Saudi Arabia Crisis Management and Lessons Learn During COVID-19 Pandemic in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

During the first quarter of 2020, the world encountered a crucial and unprecedented health crisis. The global transmission of COVID-19 poses a significant challenging situation for Oil and Gas industry, particularly in the absence of standardized procedures and recognized methods. Like many other countries worldwide, Saudi Arabia implemented the lockdown for utmost public and private services and controlled population movement through curfew. With the execution of these tight mitigation requirements, Halliburton Saudi Arabia has been able to maintain business continuity by looking at the basic approach of health, safety, and environmental (HSE) processes through crisis management decision making and utilizing digital solutions. The purpose of this paper is to showcase how Halliburton Saudi Arabia developed sustainable adjustable process and methods that reduced exposure and the pandemic-related potential risks associated with working in offices, rig sites, workshops, and laboratories while maintaining business continuity in operation, manufacturing, and technology. Halliburton Saudi Arabia preformed risk analysis, tracking systems, exposure modification methodologies, communication strategies and management decisions that helped the company overcome challenges during the pandemic. The implementation of risk assessments, adaptable safety procedures and utilizing more than 5 digital platforms, served Halliburton employees and its work force throughout 2021 and into 2032. In this paper, we share lessons learned during the pandemic, how we overcame the unprecedented health crisis and how we continue to deal with the pandemic impact. Copyright © 2022, International Petroleum Technology Conference.