Deputy Chief Corbett stood up and returned to the command vehicle that was parked in the street outside the office building.

Alan breathed a sigh of relief, then flipped open his master contingency planning binder.

$$At least we don$$t have to make up a plan,$$ he said. $$Let$$s review our next steps in case our offices are ever inaccessible for a month or more.$$

Discussion Questions

What other crises or catastrophes can happen in a mailroom that could prompt an emergency procedure like the one illustrated here?

What goals should be included when planning for the resumption of critical business functions at an alternate site for four weeks? What would be different if the planning horizon were $30$ weeks instead?

When the organization makes a plan like the one described here, what parts of the plan should be from the contingency planning management team $($CPMT$)$ and what parts should come from the subject area experts?

Ethical Decision Making

It seems that the company exposed its employees to some stress during the $$white powder$$ drill without telling the employees that it was taking place. While this is almost certainly legal, do you think it was ethical to spring the surprise on the employees as part of a training event?

What if a key customer had an urgent special request that the company could not respond to because of this drill? Is it an ethical lapse to fail to meet a customer expectation?

What if Bobby had been injured during the drill when the package opened in the mail room? Of course, the company would be responsible for the worker compensation claim, but would it also be guilty of an ethical failure to protect the safety of its employees?