2010 has seen a range of unforeseen events that have wreaked havoc, from the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, the Icelandic volcano, which closed down European airspace, to the financial crisis in Greece and the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.
These incidents follow the financial crisis that unfolded as a result of a confluence of events that produced consequences few predicted, let alone prepared for. It seems the “unknown unknowns” observed by former US defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld are becoming more common and their potential consequences more serious.
“Globalization brings a much greater propensity for shocks in one part of the world to cascade through to other parts of the world,” says Rick Cudworth, head of the resilience and testing practice at Deloitte.
This quote from a Financial Times article highlights one of the factors that is constantly pushing crisis management to evolve. As globalization makes it not only possible, but also probable, for crises on one side of the world to affect others, crisis prevention and response planning must be expanded to reach across vast distances, differing languages, cultures and even incompatible technologies.
The BCM Blogging Team
https://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/