Most suppliers lose around 16% of their customers each year. The reason? Poor service - whether perceived or real. Any technology-based support service, whether in-house, contracted or outsourced, stands to be accused of being insensitive to the requirements of its customers (or users). Equally, customers of a support service may have unrealistic expectations of what can be reasonably provided. Service Level Agreements (SLAs) can overcome these gulfs. A Service Level Agreement can create harmony between parties and can prevent disputes between customers and suppliers. It can justify investment and identify the "right" quality of service. It can mean the difference between business success and failure. SLAs are potentially a strategic tool to align all support services (particularly IT) directly to business mission achievement. In the past, few organizations used them in this way. Armed with this book and the optional companion SLA FRAMEWORK, more and more businesses are now succeeding. Where are SLAs going? Increasingly business-focused. Increasingly measured in real-time. Simple documents that cover complex service infrastructures. Providing a competitive edge. Embracing penalties. The brave, who commit to tight SLAs and perform against them will win the commercial spoils. This book provides the knowledge and tools based on fifteen years of intensive development to ensure your enterprise is among the winners. =============================== Covering all aspects of Information Technology Service Level Agreements (SLA's), this essential manual is a step-by-step guide to designing, negotiating and implementing SLA's into your organization. It reviews the disadvantages and advantages, gives clear guidance on what types are appropriate, how to set up SLA's and to control them. An invaluable aid to IT managers, data center managers, computer services, systems and operations managers.

The Complete Guide to I.T. Service Level Agreements: Aligning It Services to Business Needs (Service Level Management)

Business & Money

Hiles, Andrew N

Industries

Rothstein Publishing

Endorsed by The Business Continuity Institute. - Contains a comprehensive, detailed business continuity audit plan - Includes sample audit report and work papers - An ideal resource for consultants or auditors, as well as internal business continuity planners! - International in scope - includes country-specific guidelines. This book presents a general methodology and a framework for auditing Business Continuity Management (BCM). The main purpose is to provide a single work of reference for auditors, managers working in business continuity and consultants. BCM is a complex field. It covers business issues and technology with a perspective on the entire enterprise. The business continuity manager, and the auditor, require a diversified set of skills and extensive knowledge to assess business continuity as a question of business survival. There has been a lot of confusion about the terms "business continuity," "disaster recovery," "IT security" and many other words attempting to describe the continuation of critical business processes under adverse circumstances. However, for the auditor these terms refer to one and the same notion: businesses should take adequate precautions to ensure that no going concern issues arise from crises or disasters. Some companies decide to take a cautious stance with regard to continuing their operations come what may: they prefer to "err on the safe side" and rely on preventative measures. Other firms, perhaps in an industry where "speed to market" and competitive pressure require a faster pace, may prefer to reduce investments on prevention, while putting in place a robust crisis and disaster management mechanism. Both types of corporations nevertheless pursue the overall goal of business continuity, by either avoiding risks or disasters (if they can), or by making sure they can deal with these events. In a sense, BCM means "reading the future" or trying to safeguard an organization against unforeseen events. Management is still forced to address precisely this issue, by carefully evaluating their options and then making an entrepreneurial decision about the acceptable level of remaining risk. To the auditor, it is important to understand how this decision has been reached and whether it can be justified from a financial, operational and managerial point of view. Neither the overly cautious nor the reckless manager will succeed in today's market - the BCM auditor should provide a sounding board and an objective business partnership to the management of the company being reviewed. BCM audit is therefore an important element of ensuring corporate survival. The audit result incorporates issues of compliance, highlights weaknesses and provides reasonable recommendations to management, whose experience may be enhanced and improved by the auditor's objective input from other corporations or industries. It is not to be confused with the much narrower field of IT audit. This book has been deliberately restricted to business continuity rather than IT continuity to highlight the all-important differences between the two. The contents have been arranged around the Business Continuity Institute (BCI) / Disaster Recovery Institute International (DRII) Professional Practices for business continuity as well as other standards such as CobIT or ISO / IEC 17799. Some elements may look familiar to the experienced auditor who may still benefit from using this book as a reference manual or as an instructive tool for groups of auditors. This is intentional, as BCM and related audit questions should "fit in" with tools and models that are recognized and proven in the field.

Auditing Business Continuity: Global Best Practices (Business Continuity Management)

Von Roessing, Rolf

Insurance

This book is a guide to implementation of World-Class Business Continuity Management within an enterprise. It may be used as a step-by-step guide by those new to Business Continuity Management or dipped into by the more seasoned professional for ideas and updates on specific topics. There is no absolute "right way" to perform business continuity management - although there are plenty of wrong ways. Business Continuity is not rocket science: it is applied common sense. Yes, experience helps, but it is no mystic art. This book makes the processes transparent and provide the reader with everything necessary to do the job. Many examples are provided throughout this guide: these all have their roots in real cases and real organizations, and come heavily laden with pragmatism. Over fifteen years of business continuity experience in environments large and small, public and private, has gone into developing the methods described. Your own "right way" for business continuity management means picking, matching and tailoring from the cases and examples provided and combining these with existing best practice within your organization. EXCERPT FROM THE PREFACE Melvyn Musson, FBCI, CBCP, CISSP I was very pleased to be asked to write a preface to this much-needed book. There are many books that have been written covering various aspects of hazard control, emergency response, disaster recovery and business continuity, but not one that pulls all areas together under the auspices of the individual sections of the BCI and DRII Professional Practices. Why my interest? To quote from a letter I wrote to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) in 1991 when they were considering the establishment of a Technical Committee to develop a Standard on Disaster Management: "Disaster Management, or Business Continuation Planning as we prefer to call it, is a natural progression from Hazard/Loss Control through Emergency Response to the recovery process. "The best hazard/loss control programs cannot prevent emergency or catastrophic situations occurring. The emergency response procedures that most companies have developed or which may be required by law, deal with such aspects as initial fire fighting, evacuation, life safety, etc. - what one might term the stabilization of the situation. They cover the first hours of the emergency. They do not deal with the long-term recovery, which could take several months. "Disaster Management, or some other similarly named program, is needed to enable the company to institute procedures to return to normal operations as soon as possible. That standard is now available as NFPA 1600: Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs. Within that standard are details of the BCI/DRII Professional Practices, albeit as part of the various sections of the standard and not as an individual, specific section. In addition to NFPA 1600, other standards and guides such as BS7779 in Great Britain and the recent Australian Risk Management Standard are incorporating the Professional Practices either by specific reference or wording relating to the practices. The advent of the Turnbull Report introduces a new consideration and need, which the Professional Practices can support. This makes it all the more important to have a reference material that can clearly detail what should be considered in each of the ten subject areas, together with appropriate examples and details of not only the benefits but also the problems that can be expected with each of those subject areas. Andrew Hiles has been able to do so in the development of this book. In addition, since Andrew intends to issue periodic updates, this book becomes a living document, which will address both changes in the Professional Practices and developments within the industry.

Business Continuity: Best Practices - World-Class Business Continuity Managemen

As companies continue to downsize and make do with fewer personnel, it is critical that all managers are able to effectively compel their teams to function at the highest levels possible. In order for optimum performance from all employees to be a reality, there must be a minimum of emotional distress in the workplace. This book is a straightforward look at the real costs of emotional corrosion in the workplace and how it affects the bottom line. It is a frank and open discussion of dysfunctional managerial and employee personality types and how to recognize and repair them. It outlines the empathetic managerial style proven time and again to be the most successful way to improve and maintain employee productivity. It is not a guide to fuzzy, sissy-type, right-brained mush, nor is it a guide to the insincere I feel your pain, style of management either. It provides well-tested emotional continuity management tools that bridge human emotional dynamics with the fiscal demands of a company. A variety of quizzes and self-analyses will help you discover what types of managers are working at your business. Multiple case studies connect the type of manager (and management behavior) to forecast success of the need for more effort. There are also lists of all types of employees and how to recognize the destructive emotional dislocations they can cause. If you aren t convinced...a methodology for calculating the costs of emotional distress and disturbance is also included. There is a real cost involved with workplace emotional distress. Are you willing to continue to pay it, or will you protect your business' bottom line? Emotional Terrors in the Workplace is an interesting, comprehensive, and constructive approach to adding the key ingredient of empathy into your role as a manager.

Emotional Crises in the Workplace: Protecting Your Business' Bottom Line - Emotional Continuity Management

Mitchell, Vali Hawkins

Business Culture

Julia Graham and David Kaye, two globally recognized risk management experts with experience in 50 countries, were among the first to recognize the interrelationship of Risk Management and Business Continuity and demonstrate how to integrate them with Corporate Governance enterprise-wide. They focus on all the factors that must be considered when developing a comprehensive Business Continuity Plan, especially for multi-location or multinational companies. Endorsed by The Business Continuity Institute, Institute for Risk Management, and Disaster Recovery Institute International, the book includes: Chapter objectives, summaries and bibliographies; charts, sample forms, checklists throughout. Plentiful case studies, in boxed text, sourced globally in the UK, US, Europe, Australia, Asia, etc. Boxed inserts summarizing key concepts. Glossy of 150 risk management and business continuity terms. Wide range of challenges, including supply chain disruptions, media and brand attack, product contamination and product recall, bomb threats, chemical and biological threats, etc. Instructions for designing/executing team exercises with role playing to rehearse scenarios. Guidance on how to develop a business continuity plan, including a Business Impact Analysis. Downloadable Instructor Materials are available for college and professional developement use, including PowerPoint slides and syllabus for 12-week course with lecture outlines/notes, quizzes, reading assignments, discussion topics, projects "Provides clear guidance, supported with a wide range of memorable and highly relevant case studies, for any risk or business continuity manager to successfully meet the challenges of today and the future." --Steven Mellish, Chairman, The Business Continuity Institute Consultants with experience in 50 countries show how to integrate business continuity, risk management, and corporate governance enterprise-wide. They focus on factors to consider in developing a comprehensive Business Continuity Plan. Includes case studies, charts, forms, checklists, boxed summaries of key concepts. Instructor Resources available. Preface, by Senator George Mitchell ( Preface, by Steve Mellish, FBCI, The Business Continuity Institute Introduction 1. A Risk-Based Approach To Business Continuity 2. Stakeholders 3. Governance, Good Practice, Standards, Regulation and the Law 4. Culture, Strategy, Performance, Risk and Business Continuity 5. Getting Started: The Business Continuity Management Cycle 6. Introduction to the Business Impact Analysis 7. The Business Impact Analysis: A Hitch-Hikers Guide 8. Application and Uses of BIA Information 9. Technology, Exposures and Continuity 10. Dependency Management: Supplier Management, Outsourcing and Business Support 11. Opportunities and Other Applications for Business Continuity Tools and Principles 12. The People Factor 13. The Value of Insurance When Facing Potentially Catastrophic Risk 14. Communications 15. Emergency and Governmental Services 16. Rehearsals and Exercising of Plans and Risk Decision-Making 17. Maintenance, Benchmarking, Assurance and Audit 18. Developing a Plan - Putting Theory Into Practice Appendix A: British Standard PAS 56, Guide to Business Continuity Management, Annex Appendix B: BCM Evaluation Criteria Glossary About The Authors

A Risk Management Approach to Business Continuity: Aligning Business Continuity with Corporate Governance

Graham, Julia

Kaye,David

Your disaster recovery plan is in place, but as with any plan, you need to test it not only to find holes in the plan, but also confirm the underlying assumptions will work. This is the only book available on this subject and is your guide to the entire testing process. Testing cannot be an afterthought of recovery planning; it must be a powerful, disciplined and efficient implementation tool. This book proves that testing is not an art. It is a science. 
 Despite the ever-evolving nature of business in the global economy and the corresponding increased number of threats to business continuity, this book contains timeless and technology-independent principles from 30 professionals who have contributed their expertise in 36 detailed chapters. Each author provides checklists and suggest topics to cover in any disaster recovery planning document. 
The book is written in four sections with numerous realistic scenarios and provides beneficial guidance for managing the entire testing process.

Disaster Recovery Testing: Exercising Your Contingency Plan

Philip Jan Rothstein

There is no one writing about Business Continuity today who is better informed and clearer thinking than Andrew Hiles. --Lyndon Bird, FBCI, Technical Director, The Business Continuity Institute Put World-Class Consultant Andrew Hiles on Your BC Team Get His 600-Page Package of New Book + 41 Free Downloads Now! After consulting for 35 years in 60 countries, Hiles has just about seen it all when it comes to BC practices--the good, the bad, and the ugly. In this new 3rd edition of his classic text, he shares his hard-won tips and tools about what works and why. It's like putting one of the planet's most highly regarded consultants on your team for less than $100! In his 256-page book, Hiles draws on his years of global experience to provide step-by-step guidance in building and maintaining a world-class BC management system and plan. He includes case studies, real life examples, self-test questions, and field-tested checklists, forms, and charts. An accompanying Free Download of 360 pages in 41 files contains editable models, templates, and spreadsheets; sample plans and questionnaires; timely articles, and more. They all add up to practical tips and tools that will spare you costly mistakes and help you create a business continuity management system based on the best global intel currently available--and conveniently all in one place! New in this 3rd edition, Hiles: 
<ul>
<li>Distills 200+ international Business Continuity standards, guidelines, laws, and regulations into those most relevant to various situations. In a quick-reference format, he summarizes each; evaluates its relevance, importance, usability, pros, and cons; and, gives guidance on how and why to choose those best for an organization and locale, including the new ISO 22301 and its likely effects.</li>
 <li>Shares field-tested, hands-on tools and insider tips that will help practitioners avoid pitfalls and costly mistakes, including: <ul>
<li>Case studies </li>
<li>Real-life examples </li>
<li>Sample questionnaires, including soft-copy risk and impact assessment questionnaires and editable vital records and vital materials questionnaire </li>
<li>Self-test questions and discussion questions </li>
<li>Checklists, forms, sample action plans, charts, graphs </li>
<li>Emergency management policy and procedures </li>
<li>Comprehensive glossary of important BCM terms and concepts </li>
<li>Full professional index 
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Provides 360 PAGES/41 FILES of FREE DOWNLOADS the equivalent of another book! Downloads include: <ul>
<li>16 practical articles including Managing Management, Pitching Preparedness, The Politics of Recovery Testing, Managing Supply Chain Risk, and Why Outsourcing Contracts Go Wrong. </li>
<li>Sample plans, reports, and questionnaires. </li>
<li>Editable spreadsheets for calculating Productivity and Sales Losses; Customer Lifetime Value; and True Cost of Disaster to help create a comprehensive Business Impact Assessment that will develop a strong business case for BCM. </li>
<li>Reproducible forms, charts, and checklists. </li>
<li>A much-requested BC coordinator job description. </li>
<li>45-question/one-hour BC exam to test your knowledge or prepare for certification exams. </li>
<li>18-page whitepaper on the new ISO 22301 standard, providing an overview of its ramifications and links with other standards, full text of clauses, and information on how to integrate and implement it. 
</li>
</ul> Andrew Hiles, FBCI, was founding director and first fellow of the Business Continuity Institute. In 2004 he was inducted into the Business Continuity Hall of Fame by CPM Magazine for demonstrating consistent high standards over time and global reach.</li>
</ul>

Hiles on Business Continuity: Global Best Practices, 3rd Edition, with Free Downloads of Editable Models, Templates, Spreadsheets and More

Hiles, Andrew

Would your routine office fire drill be able to handle the large-scale chaos of a major disaster? Can you get everyone out safely in the face of a factory fire, explosion, or natural disaster? In Emergency Evacuation Planning for Your Workplace: From Chaos to Life-Saving Solutions, Jim Burtles leads you step-by-step through a planning methodology that saves lives. You can be assured your company will be ready and that everyone will know what to do -- whatever the nature of the emergency. In one practical, easy-to-read resource, Burtles helps you create a comprehensive plan to evacuate people of all ages and health conditions from workplaces such as small offices, skyscrapers, stores, industrial plants, hospitals, college campuses, and more. His carefully constructed methodology leads you through the development of organization-wide plans - ensuring that your procedures align with best practices, relevant regulations, sound governance, and corporate responsibility. His five stages of an Emergency Evacuation Planning (EEP) Lifecycle include: 
<ol>
<li>Set up the EEP program Bring management on board, get executive buy-in and policy approval to proceed.</li> <li>Embed EEP into the corporate culture Begin your awareness campaign immediately, getting the message out to the community you are serving.</li> <li>Understand the environment Explore which areas of the organization have emergency plans and which need to be covered in your overall EEP/</li> <li>Agree upon an EEP strategy Work closely with people who know the premises to identify threats that could trigger an emergency, and visit and evaluate potential exit points.</li> <li>Develop evacuation procedures Look at the people, their probable locations, their existing challenges. Determine if you will need one plan or a suite of plans.</li> <li>Exercise and maintain the EEP Run regular exercises to familiarize everyone with plans and choices as often as needed to accommodate changing personnel and individual needs. Because this a long-term process, go back to the earlier parts of the cycle and review the plan to keep it current.</li>
</ol>
Thought-provoking discussion questions, real-life case studies and examples, comprehensive index, and detailed glossary facilitate both college and professional instruction. Downloadable resources and tools practical toolkit full of innovative and field-tested plans, forms, checklists, tips, and tools to support you as you set up effective workplace evacuation procedures. Instructor s Manual available for use by approved adopters in college courses and professional development training.

Emergency Evacuation Planning for Your Workplace: From Chaos to Life-Saving Solutions

Burtles, Jim

Management & Leadership

Lukaszewski on Crisis Communication: What Your CEO Needs to Know About Reputation Risk and Crisis Management

Crisis is not like other business interruptions. In a crisis, your company spokespersons, managers, and employees must know exactly what to do, what to say, when to say it, and when to do it -- while the whole world is watching! But can you depend on your crisis management plan to make that happen? Lukaszewski on Crisis Communication is your guide to preparing for a crisis and the explosive visibility and reputation risk that come with it. In a masterful book selected as one of "30 Best Business Books of 2013" by Soundview Executive Book Summaries and endorsed by the Business Continuity Institute, Lukaszewski distills four decades of public relations experience into 10 chapters of field-tested advice. Delivered in his straight-talking style and backed with compelling case studies, examples and templates, Lukaszewski explains how to build a crisis management plan and how to put it into action in the real world of media scrutiny, social media, activists, and litigation. How-to's, practical tools, tips, charts, checklists, forms, and templates teach you the simple, sensible, sincere, constructive, positive techniques to reduce contention and to succeed. His key messages teach you: 
<ul>
<li>To recognize how a crisis creates victims a topic rarely covered in traditional communications and operation response planning.</li> <li>To avoid the toxicity of silence.</li> <li>To overcome the abusive, intrusive, and coercive behavior of the media, activists, and critics what he calls the bloviators, bellyachers, back-bench bitchers. </li> <li>To drive attorneys to settle instead of litigate.</li> <li>To use the value of an apology, the atomic energy of empathy. </li>
</ul>
Thought-provoking discussion questions, real-life case studies and examples, comprehensive index, and detailed glossary facilitate both college and professional instruction. Downloadable resources and tools Access a practical toolkit full of innovative and field-tested plans, forms, checklists, tips, and tools to support you as you prepare your organization for effective crisis communication./
Instructional Materials For the classroom, an Instructor s Manual available for use by approved adopters in college courses and professional development training. Also, to assist in instruction, the author makes available his slides, videos, and Skype interaction.

Lukaszewski on Crisis Communication: What Your CEO Needs to Know about Reputation Risk and Crisis Management

Lukaszewski, James E.

When "blindsided" by a crisis, are you ready to be the real leader who brings strength of character and split-second action to restore a "new normal"? Workplace violence, natural disaster, or worse -- it comes down to who you are and what you do in the face of the test. Learn time-tested skills to make a difference in a crisis! In this new, completely updated and expanded 2nd edition of Bruce Blythe's Blindsided, he walks you through the foolproof step-by-step system to become the kind of leader he calls a "crisis whisperer." Result: You will never be "blindsided" again! In the first half of the book, Blythe lands you in the middle of a fast-breaking crisis an active shooter in the corridor outside your office -- and uses real-world case studies, examples, and checklists to show what a top-notch leader would need to do in each phase of the crisis. Then, in the second half of the book, he demonstrates how to apply this knowledge to develop and implement your own crisis management plan.Blindsided is two books in one: Crisis Response and Crisis Preparedness. NEW in the 2nd edition: <ul>
<li>How to apply the Reasonable Person Test and Wall Street Journal Test to crisis decision management decisions in advance. New chapter on Reputation Management shows how to make the right decisions, before reputation and bottom line suffer!</li> <li>How to avoid falling into the "Crisis Red Zone," in which your leadership effectiveness can evaporate.</li> <li>How to lead the workforce into a "New Normal," even in the wake of the most upsetting and disorienting crisis.</li> <li>How to develop Crisis Response Teams as part of your Crisis Management Plan - selecting and training the right people for the job.</li> <li>How to anticipate important Crisis Management risks that are trending and will be part of your future - and how to prepare for them in a Crisis Management Plan that works for today and tomorrow.</li> </ul>
Practical forms, checklists, cases studies, real-life examples, glossary, index, discussion questions, and other take-and-use tools: <ul>
<li>Quick use response guide at the end of each chapter - all 15 can form a handy pocket guide.</li> <li>Incident checklists for 9 major types of crisis - accidental death, chemical/toxic exposure, earthquake, and more.</li> <li>Special guide for organizing in advance to address the needs of families of those who are injured or lost in an event - with sample conversations.</li> </ul>
Instructor's Manual and 300+ classroom slides available upon book adoption. Professors: Request a complimentary copy.

Blindsided: A Manager's Guide to Crisis Leadership, 2nd Edition

Blythe, Bruce T.

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Rothstein Publishing publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Rothstein Publishing