Offer an explanation regarding what continuity planning is and its primary benefits related to homeland security
Discussion Questions: Offer an explanation regarding what continuity planning is and its primary benefits related to homeland security and what such planning incorporates. Also, compare and contrast how these efforts are carried out by the public and private sectors.
Instructions: Fully utilize the materials that have been provided to you in order to support your response. Your initial post should be at least 350 words. Please respond to at least two other students. Responses should be a minimum of 150 words and include direct questions. You may challenge, support or supplement another student’s answer using the terms, concepts and theories from the required readings. Also, do not be afraid to respectfully disagree where you feel appropriate; as this should be part of your analysis process at this academic level.
Forum posts are graded on timeliness, relevance, knowledge of the weekly readings, and the quality of original ideas. While proper APA is not required, attribution to sources that informed your posting should be included. Refer to the grading rubric for additional details concerning grading criteria.
Student Responses
Student #1 Gary
Continuity planning is an important task to be taken for businesses and governments of all sizes. This is a plan that is put together to ensure continued operations during times of unrest or disruption of services. A well formed, rehearsed, and staged continuity plan will ensure that a business will not suffer long term consequences due to lack of services. For example, a continuity plan may be in effect if a main supplier cannot deliver goods due to a natural disaster, thus the receiver must have a continuity plan to receive their required product to carry out their business model and vice versa. One critical infrastructure industry that needs to have one is the energy sector. An example of this is that Alabama Power suffers damage during a hurricane resulting in a disruption of service, their continuity plan would be to call in all service units to repair or replace damaged equipment. They would also have enough repair equipment on-hand to conduct enough repair and replacements in order to restore power to essential emergency services then residential areas. Their continuity also ensures the local governments continuity through a mutual aid agreement.
The benefits of having a continuity plan regarding the private sector is that 80% of critical infrastructure is privately owed and operated. These services serve both residential and essential services equally, thus their ability to manage incidents and restore services is critical to maintaining our currently levels of security. Because they are private companies they can go with an industry standard, go beyond it, or not even participate in continuity planning. However, it is in their best interest from a business and whole community member to have a continuity plan. According to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) (2018) “ . . .businesses play an essential role in protecting critical infrastructure systems . . .” (p. 5), therefore their participation is essential.
The benefits of public sector continuity plan help in national preparedness and overall homeland security. For example, mitigation is a form on continuity planning and the FEMA has certain requirements to be met in order for individuals and communities to meet in order to receive certain mitigation funds and national flood insurance as well. Continuity planning does not only apply to hazard mitigation and preparedness for response and recovery, it also applies to the continuity of government. This is important when there is an incident so devastating or large in scale that their will always be someone in charge to make decisions on behalf of the people that level of government has been elected to serve.
Resources
Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2018). Continuity Guidance Circular. Retrieved from https://apus.
Student # 2
This one can just be a general response as I only have one students response so far
Solution preview for the order on offer an explanation regarding what continuity planning is and its primary benefits related to homeland security
APA
742 words