Concept Note
International Workshop
Disaster Resilience and Business Continuity Planning
Advocating Safety of Public and Private Hospitals, Schools, and other Critical Structures
Date: June 11 - 13, 2018
Venue: Milton Blender Auditorium, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand
Organized by:
Disaster Preparedness, Mitigation and Management (DPMM),
Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand
Partners:- Philippine School of Business Administration, Manila, Philippines
- Quezon City Government, Philippines
- UP Planning and Development Research Foundation Inc., Philippines
- Global Marketing Forum, WY82801, United States of America
The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) is an international institute of higher learning. It is Asia’s pioneer institution established in 1959 to help meet the region’s growing needs for advanced learning in engineering, science, technology, management, research, and capacity building. AIT’s mission is to develop highly qualified and committed professionals who will play a leading role in the sustainable development of the region and its integration into the global economy. AIT is based in Thailand and has affiliated centers in other parts of the world.
The Philippine School of Business Administration, Manila (PSBA-Manila) is a non-sectarian Higher Educational Institution, duly organized and created pursuant to the laws of the Philippines, incorporated in 1966. It is also duly recognized by the Philippine Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and part of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Association of Universities (IAU) so called IAU/UNESCO List. The main rationale of the School is to help meet the country’s management requirements for more advanced and sophisticated industrial and commercial life and government responsibilities as well. PSBA started its research arm for Disaster Risk Management (DRM) researches and projects in 2006 and recently started offering DRM Specialization in its existing MBA program. PSBA-Manila is committed not only to the education of Filipinos, but also of other nationalities as well and has cooperative ventures with business schools in Indonesia and Pakistan.
Disasters and its impacts on BusinessDisasters are inevitable and occur globally, affect all sections of the society, and include both natural and man-made disasters. Natural disasters include floods, droughts, earthquake, volcanic eruptions, landslides, avalanches, and forest fires. Man-made or human-induced disasters pertain to disruptive events due to civil unrest, terrorism, or war. Different types of disasters have varied impact on different sectors of an economy.
Business enterprise may be small, medium, or large in size, and exist in various sectors of an economy. Business formulates the flow of goods and services and formulates the backbone of an economy. Business includes manufacturing, production, and service sectors.
Disaster impacts the business enterprise both locally and globally. Several countries were affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and Japan Tsunami in 2011; Earthquakes in Pakistan (2005), China (2008), Japan (2010), Philippines (2012) and India (2005); Hurricane and typhoons in the USA (2005), Myanmar (2008), Philippines (2013) and Mexico (2017); Volcanic Eruptions in Hawaii (2018) and Indonesia (2010); and Floods in Thailand (2011), Brazil (2010) and Nigeria (2012).
Impacts of disasters on businessSeveral disasters affect business adversely. The duration of immediate impact depends upon the type of disaster, however, reaching normalcy after the disaster effect should be minimized for achieving resilience from disaster events. Major impacts of disasters on business include: (1) Disruption of production or manufacturing processes; (2) Loss and damages to the stored products, plant and machinery and infrastructure; (3) Decline in sales and demand for goods and services; (4) Loss of employees and their livelihood; (5) Loss of or reduced financial resources; and (6) Mental trauma and stress arising from disaster event.
Recovering business from disastersIt is crucial for a business to not only survive from a disaster, but to also attain growth and development post-disaster. The measures adopted to achieve resilient businesses are also referred to as “Build Back Better”:
- Accurate risk assessment and analysis to curtail damages and losses from disasters;
- Adopt structural and non-structural measures to be prepared for future disasters;
- Adopt risk transfer tools such as insurance;
- Duplication of essential business data and records;
- Being aware of vulnerabilities arising from their geographic location and exposure towards natural as well as man-made hazards;
- Communication with all stakeholders involved in the disaster management and disaster risk reduction.
Disaster Resilience and Business Continuity Planning at various levels for Advocating Safety of Public and Private Hospitals, Schools, and other Critical Structures are one of the key components for mainstreaming resilience and Disaster Risk Reduction in higher education. This workshop will contribute in the exchange of knowledge and dialogues which will help in developing actions and projects for mainstreaming resilience further and thus reducing the risk of disasters.
This event being organized at Asian Institute of Technology, Pathumthani, Thailand gives a great opportunity to our institutional corporation to join hands toward the effort in Mainstreaming Resilience and Disaster Risk Reduction in Education.
The Philippines is located in one of the most disaster-prone areas of the world. Its location on the western rim of the Pacific and along the circum-pacific seismic belt (Ring of Fire) makes it vulnerable to a range of natural disasters. The international workshop is one of the adoptions of governance, education, and technology. These dimensional frameworks on governance, education, and technology are reciprocally complimentary and strengthening for disaster governance as a consolidated mechanism.
Hence, the Philippines is already equipped with various laws, policies, and other legislative tools for disaster governance; but it is the cultural and psychological mindset which is difficult to change. The challenge to evolve and transform from a culture of disaster to a culture of resilience depends not only on the government alone, but on the people as well.