Contingency planning has to do with change. Environments change all the time, socially, economically, and politically; organizations must know when and how to pivot to adapt to those changes the key to this type of planning is that organizations must anticipate (expect) the change. If they do, they will succeed. If they do not, it will be problematic. A tool that can help with this type of planning is PESTLE analysis.

Now, what does this mean for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs)? When you read about contingency you realize in most cases we think and discuss the importance of contingency plans for large organizations. But, when it comes to SMEs (for example considering a local restaurant), they might not have contingency plans, policies, and workforce to address unexpected or sudden changes.

Do you think contingency planning (and scenario development) is specific to large organizations, or it also applies to small businesses? What would be the benefit and cost of such managerial approaches to SMEs? Try to have some research, think about different businesses and, in your comments and replies, use small business examples to explain your ideas.