Title: Strategic aspects of contingency planning in chaotic environments and systems: multi-case study

Authors: Alan D. Smith

Addresses: Department of Management and Marketing, Robert Morris University, Pittsburgh, PA 15219-3099, USA

Abstract: General concepts of chaos theory are used to explain how markets change, while complexity theory is often used to manage in an ever-changing business environment. Three large Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based organisations were studied from a case study-perspective, namely a global manufacturing corporation noted for its chemical production and pharmaceuticals, a financial services and banking company and a financial services and consulting company. A brief introduction to the corporate goals and its general operating environment are followed by sections describing local and area-wide disaster planning initiatives, such as contingency planning initiatives involving datacentres and ATM operations. A relatively detailed discussion of the practical applications of lessons learnt from the case studies and specific recommendations for contingency planning were included.

Keywords: ATM; automated teller machine; cash points; cash machines; banks; banking; business strategies; contingency planning; datacenters; datacentres; ICT; information technology; communications technology; data centres; operational effectiveness; service marketing; sustainable management; risk management; chaotic environments; chaos theory; complexity theory; Pittsburgh; Pennsylvania; USA; United States; global manufacturing; chemical production; pharmaceuticals; financial services; consulting companies; consultancies; corporate goals; operating environments; area-wide planning; local planning; disaster planning; disaster management; emergency management; practical applications; Bayer Corporation; PNC; Bain; systems research.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBSR.2011.042092

International Journal of Business and Systems Research, 2011 Vol.5 No.5, pp.423 - 442

Published online: 18 Apr 2015 *

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