I’ve been talking about the shift in standardization into “soft” areas — Management, human resources, and other “non-engineering” subjects. So the release of ISO 22316 on organizational resilience is a good example of this trend. The new standard is titled Security and resilience – Organizational resilience – Principles and attributes. It can be used in any industry and at any point in the organization’s lifecycle.
The new ISO 22316 is part of the ISO 22300 series on societal security. This series deals with processes and requirements for successful handling of emergencies and disasters. It is intended to be part of your preparation for both natural and human-acts (including technical failures) that can negatively impact your organization. These standards apply to both commercial entities and communities and other governmental groups.
The concept of resilience that is put forward in the ISO 22300 series is that of anticipating and responding to threats and opportunities that come with changes in your “environment.” These external forces can be gradual or sudden. They can even come from internal sources. In many ways, these standards provide risk-management guidelines for the changes that are constantly impacting us.
ISO 22316 specifically addresses the following areas of good business practices:
- Anticipating and addressing risks and vulnerabilities
- Using management practices to improve coordination and performance
- Improving understanding of dependencies and the wide range of interested parties
The standard helps you manage these areas by providing a review of the principles that are the foundation of organizational resilience. It delineates the attributes and characteristics of a resilient organization. And it provides information on activities that help you improve and utilize those characteristics.
While it has taken a bit of time for these types of standards to proliferate, I must say that they do bring a much-needed viewpoint into the technical documentation for business management. I think of a number of news stories I’ve seen lately. In my mind, the lack of clarity of a business’s true purpose or employee empowerment seems to be at the root of some avoidable company blunders.
Standards like ISO 22316 help organizations address issues of internal communication, clarity of goals, and development of a supportive culture so necessary in today’s world. If you are working towards bettering your organization and are concerned about responding to the many forces that impact your company, this standard is for you.
Search for and order any of the ISO standards (including many historical editions if required) at the Document Center Inc. webstore, www.document-center.com. We are an authorized distributor of these standards. Here is a direct link to the order page for ISO 22316. You can choose to purchase the 18-page publication in either paper format or for pdf download.
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