Journalism-PR

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Just by looking at the definitions (provided by wikipedia- a good starting point for research, however unreliable for in-depth study), I would venture to say the difference between isolation and quarantine is the harshness of the word. Perhaps ‘quarantine’ is used as to confuse the public and avoid panic. Quarantine does have a close resemblance to vaccine.

i‧so‧la‧tion 
1.
an act or instance of isolating.

2.
the state of being isolated.

3.
the complete separation from others of a person suffering from contagious or infectious disease; quarantine.

4.
the separation of a nation from other nations by isolationism.

5.
Psychoanalysis. a process whereby an idea or memory is divested of its emotional component.

6.
Sociology. social isolation.
[Origin: 1825–35; isolate + -ion]

—Synonyms 2. See solitude. 3. segregation.


quar‧an‧tine 
1.
a strict isolation imposed to prevent the spread of disease.

2.
a period, originally 40 days, of detention or isolation imposed upon ships, persons, animals, or plants on arrival at a port or place, when suspected of carrying some infectious or contagious disease.

3.
a system of measures maintained by governmental authority at ports, frontiers, etc., for preventing the spread of disease.

4.
the branch of the governmental service concerned with such measures.

5.
a place or station at which such measures are carried out, as a special port or dock where ships are detained.

6.
the detention or isolation enforced.

7.
the place, esp. a hospital, where people are detained.

8.
a period of 40 days.

9.
social, political, or economic isolation imposed as a punishment, as in ostracizing an individual or enforcing sanctions against a foreign state.
–verb (used with object)
10.
to put in or subject to quarantine.

11.
to exclude, detain, or isolate for political, social, or hygienic reasons.
(wikipedia.com)
There is a disaster.

WHO? what? WhErE?
When? what does that mean?
What do I need to do? What shouldn’t I do?
Do I need to contact anyone?


Obviously it’s important to keep a business up and running no matter what may try to prevent it. Businesses need contingency plans in order to anticipate any disasters or potential problems. But in order to insure a good ‘restart’ and maintain a calm atmosphere, you must be able to contact your employees and answer any questions they have. A confused worker will be unsure of the course of action required to accomplish the goals of the firm.

A good start to Contingency plans can be found by listening to or reading work by Emergency Managers. The four bases of what they do can be seen as:

1. Preparedness
2. Mitigation
3. Response
4. Recovery


These broad topics are great foundations for businesses to build procedures on.


More specifically, some companies start contingency plans using these steps:

Business Impact Analysis
Contingency Planning
Contingency Audit and Assurance
Risk Analysis
Service Level Agreements
ISO 17799

( http://www.business-continuity-world.com/ )



OR BETTER YET (NOTE THE COMMUNICATION) :

1. Establish Organizational Planning Guidelines
2. Business Impact Analysis (the Risk Assessment)
3. Develop detailed Contingency Plans
4. Validate
5. Communicate the Plan


( http://www.technologybestpractices.com/contingencyplanning.htm )



Following model taken from Wikipedia.com:
BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANNING LIFE CYCLE
(all this is in a continuous circle leading to the next point)

->maintainance -> Analyisis -> Solution Design -> immplementation -> testing & Acceptance ->


Sample Plans:

Excellent Sample Plans - Submitted by Ed Pearce (EAB Member)

BRP - Development Guide - (Word Document)

www.drj.com/new2dr/samples.htm (disaster recovery journal)


CLEAR WATER OIL COMPANY PLAN:
http://www.epa.gov/oilspill/pdfs/guidance/F_ContingencyPlan.doc


Something Interesting: http://www.ifnews.com/


Monday, October 16, 2006

Ethics and Social Responsibility are two key success factors on which an organization should be founded. It is important to uphold the laws of your citizenship and rules of the organization you are representing no matter where business may take you. Some argue that this will only help the company in the long-run, but it certainly can not hurt.

Green Mountain Coffee (GMC) was named number one on Business Ethics Social responsibility list for 2006
http://www.business-ethics.com/whats_new/100best.html

To see GMC’s core values and social responsibility values:
http://www.greenmountaincoffee.com/ContentPage.aspx?name=SocialResponsibility

Monday, October 09, 2006

The following will link to the CNN video of Pres. Bush's speech about NK nuclear bomb test claim. This is a model of self control needed inorder to keep nerves of your public at a minimum during a crisis or a tense situation. Note that mitigation is key.

http://www.cnn.com/video/ Under Politics tab : Bush condemns test claim