LPHGs Strategies of Response to the Disaster - Paper Example

Summary of disaster

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The earthquake that occurred in the locality where LPHG institution operated had a very devastating effect on the establishment (Hamilton, 2012). When the Richter scale was used in measuring the extent of the earthquake, it read 7.8, which was a clear indication to the truth that the earthquake that affected the region was of a higher magnitude than expected. However, due to it being that the earthquake was a natural occurrence there was very little that individuals could have done to prevent the occurrence from negatively affecting the organization and the people who resided in the affected locality. Unfortunately, the catastrophe claimed the life of one of the employees at LPHG (Hamilton, 2012). Other than taking the life of one of the staff members at the institution mentioned above, the earthquake caused increased destruction to buildings and infrastructure. Most importantly, the earthquake incident not only affected LPHG institute but it also negatively affected the lives of the people in the surrounding region the company operated in thus affecting the lives of the people who relied on the companys products and services. The incident affected the companys market base in a manner that institutional leaders at LPHG did not expect hence subjecting the company to the danger of having to deal with reduced revenues now that most of their consumers who were affected by the earthquake would no longer be able to buy the products of the company. After any kind of disaster, it always takes a prolonged period before individuals could adjust to the changes in their environment (Hamilton, 2012). However, during the period of adjustment, institutions that largely relied on the buying power of communities around them would have to bear with reduced rates of buying amid their target consumers. The earthquake caused the death of close to 50,000 people and it led to the outbreak of H1Z1 virus that also claimed the lives of numerous persons (Hamilton, 2012).

DRP Documents: (e.g., disaster recovery plan, backup plans etc.) Include specific details about the documents, including completeness Nonetheless, way before the disaster the institution had already created a disaster recovery plan (Roza, 2007). This was so that members of staff at the institute could acquire guidance on the different roles they were required to carry out during the process of recovery. Even with it being that the communications plan may have been incomplete employees at the institution were able to make important calls after the occurrence. This was regardless of it being that the communication plan did not provide employees with a strategy they could use in contacting their families after the earthquake disaster (Roza, 2007). Further, the incomplete state of the recovery plan made it difficult for the employees at the institution to adopt the best recovery strategies now that the majority of employees did not know what they were expected to do at different points in their execution of recovery procedures. Lack of sufficient information made it difficult for employees at LPHG to measure the magnitude of the damage that had been brought forth by the earthquake (Roza, 2007). However, all thanks to the backup recovery plan that had been developed as part of the institution staff members at the organization successfully protected and restored the most vital business data without much hustle.

Post-Disaster Response Summary

Nonetheless, the organization adopted a number of strategies as part of their response to the disaster (Roza, 2007). For one, the organization made sure that those who were injured during the incidence got the assistance they desired. In addition, institutional leaders at LPHG made sure that they documented the injuries sustained by the survivors of the disaster. Most importantly, the institution contacted emergency service providers who were to issue the much-needed medical assistance to those who were maimed as a result of the earthquake.

After making sure, that all affected persons were attended to in the best way possible, LPHG officials contacted other branches owned by the institute to make sure that the other branches continued smoothly with their operations (Roza, 2007). Lack of proper preparation by the establishment made them face several obstacles in trying to restore their operations. The company did not have a baseline that they could use in comparing their performance to know whether they progressed in their performance or not.

Due to it being that the company did not have extra backups, it became difficult for the company to retrieve employees contact information after the information was lost in the disaster. This made it quite difficult for the company to establish contact with their employees and their families after the incident (Hough, 2007). In the end, the data backup procedures employed by the company helped the institute to recover most of its information after which the company was able to back-up its data to an offsite location as part of their data safety procedure.

Strengths of disaster response evaluation

Strength #1:

Strength details:

Summary of strength: The data backup procedures employed by the company were quite helpful for the company in recovering their data (Hough, 2007). For instance, the company kept its information in an offsite location that enabled them to restore lost data.

Contributing factors:

Plans: The data recovery plan was the course of action that was to be adopted in cases of disaster to help the company restore lost data (Hough, 2007). DRP turned out to be quite beneficial to the company in reclaiming its data after the disaster.

Policies: The backup policy helped a great deal in retaining data that would have otherwise been completely lost due to the catastrophe.

Documents: The document concerning data backup and recovery helped in pointing out the data that had been backed up and was available for restoration.

Positive consequences: All thanks to the fact that the establishment had a backup plan for their data, they were able to restore data more efficiently after the disaster thus ascertaining to the continuity of their business (Hough, 2007).

Ways to improve: It is important that the establishment carry out constant review of its DRP documents to ensure that they did not fail to backup important information such as individuals contacts.

Strength #2:

Strength details:

Summary of strength: The institution had a well-defined communication structure as part of its communication plan (Hough, 2007). Consequently, the institution was able to call for emergency services as well as contact alternate sites to continue with operations. As such, the institution was able to continue with its operations even after the ordeal.

Contributing factors:

Plans: The disaster recovery plan that had been developed by the establishment enabled employees at the company to be informed of the entities they were required to contact in the event of a catastrophic incident such as the earthquake (Hough, 2007).

Policies: The communication policy and command structure that was developed as part of LPHG elaborated more on the responsibilities, principles, authorities that were to be exhibited by different groups of people in preparing for an emergency and responding to emergencies (Hough, 2007).

Documents: The DRP contained a list of people who were to be contacted as well as their hierarchy (Hough, 2007). This helped employees at the company to understand the distinctive roles they were expected to carry out at the establishment in case of a disaster.

Positive consequences: Effective communication plan enabled individuals to know just the people to contact and the places to contact in case of a disaster (Hough, 2007). This helped parties concerned to assess the level of damage caused by the catastrophe and if there was need for more help in handling the situation.

Ways to improve The command structure should be developed in such a manner that it portrayed the roles that individuals were expected to play in case of a disaster (Hough, 2007). Employees at the company need to be trained on the roles they were expected to play in case of a disaster.

Strength #3:

Strength details:

Summary of strength: Individuals awareness about the disaster response plan: the manner in which the team performed after the disaster clearly indicated that even with it being that there were particular proportions of information that missed in the disaster response plan employees at the establishment portrayed increased awareness about disaster response strategy in dealing with the consequences of the disaster (Hough, 2007).

Contributing factors:

Plans: Because the company had an elaborate DRP, it was clear that they understood the important role played by an effective plan of action.

Policies: The backup and recovery policy that was developed by the establishment was a clear indication of the important role played by backup procedures in case of a disaster.

Documents: The documents stipulated the roles played by employees before, during and after a disaster.

Positive consequences: Employees at the company alleviated the consequences of the disaster because of the increased level of training they had been exposed to in dealing with catastrophe (Hough, 2007).

Ways to improve: Being adequately informed of the disaster response plan developed as part of any institution could be beneficial to employees (Dvorak, 2014). However, if the disaster response plans initiated as part of an institution did not have sufficient information then such inadequacies may be quite detrimental to an establishment in dealing with naturally occurring disaster and the catastrophic occurrences that might have been brought forth by the activities humanity engaged in at different points in their lives (Dvorak, 2014). With every disaster that institutions undergo, it is important for institutions to learn from the mistakes made in dealing with the disaster in question so that they could develop appropriate strategies they could adopt in dealing with disasters of the same kind in the future.

Areas for improvement for disaster response evaluation

Area of improvement #1:

Area of improvement details

Summary of area of improvement DRP Completion: the most crucial area of improvement that the establishment needs to tackle first is making sure that the disaster response plan that was put to play was completed (Dvorak, 2014). From the way employees at the company responded to the consequences of the earthquake, it was clear that the DRP was incomplete thus hindering efforts by the time in multiple situations after the disaster. Other than missing several information including emergency contact information amongst the employees, the BIA section of the plan was unfilled (Dvorak, 2014). The incomplete state of the DRP left the establishment unprepared to tackle the consequences of the disaster of the magnitude as mentioned above.

Contributing factors:

Plans: Due to it being that most of the DRP documents were either unavailable or incomplete it is important that the establishment developed a checklist that they could use in verifying that the DRP that had been developed was well developed to be used in any disaster situation (Dvorak, 2014).

Policies: The establishment needs to enact monitoring and auditing policies that would...