STRATEGIC PLANNING: AN OLYMPIAN TASK

An Interview with Dr Bridgette Sullivan-Taylor, Warwick Business School

The 2012 Olympics are drawing ever-closer, with excitement and hype building around the UK's biggest ever event. But, as with any large event, public safety issues have to be taken into account. What plans are in place by businesses for responding to a terrorist threat or attack on the event? Here, Dr Bridgette Sullivan-Taylor, WBS, outlines the research done by SOLAR at Warwick Business School, into strategic management implications of global terrorism.

The 2012 Olympics, taking place from Friday 27 July to Sunday 12 August, will be the biggest event the UK has staged in living memory. More than 10,000 athletes representing 200 nations will compete in the Olympics and over 4,000 disabled athletes representing 160 nations will take part in the Paralympics.

With eight million tickets available for the Olympics and two million for the Paralympics all eyes from around the world will be on London and the other UK cities and towns hosting events. But whose responsibility is it for the safety of all the participants, workers and visitors? What plans are in place by businesses for responding to a terrorist threat or attack?

These are questions studied by Dr Bridgette Sullivan-Taylor in the Strategy, Organisational Learning and Resilience (SOLAR) Research Unit in the Marketing and Strategic Management Group at Warwick Business School. Her research examines the strategic management implications of global terrorism, following on from her previous study of these issues with regards to the tourism and leisure industry. In October 2011, SOLAR is hosting a dinner at the Houses of Parliament to discuss Olympic security.

Dr Sullivan-Taylor’s previous Leverhulme-funded project focussed particularly on tourism and leisure, spurred on by the 7th July 2005 London tube and bus bomb attacks and the tightening of airline security following the 2006 plot to blow up transatlantic airliners using liquid explosives smuggled on board. “The aviation sector and airlines, airports, buses and the tube – they are the ones targeted the most by terrorists” she says.

The project looked at six organisations including an airline, airport, tour operator and two convention centres in London to research how co-ordinated their contingency preparation was. Results showed that many organisations find it difficult to plan, prepare and invest for something that may or may not happen. Whilst it is positive that many businesses claimed to have a ‘keep calm and carry on’ bulldog mentality, the project found a complacency in investing in contingency planning, with businesses believing they could muddle through in the event of a terrorist attack and hope the government would step in.

Another finding was that companies which bring people into the UK don’t see themselves as a chain of suppliers. Airports and airlines are slightly different sectors but it is imperative that they work together to protect their employees and clients. The implications for the Olympics are self-evident. A huge number of companies will be involved in transporting and hosting Olympic participants and visitors. How far do joined up approaches go, particularly between the public and private sectors, and who is responsible when something goes wrong?

The aviation sector and airlines, airports, buses and the tube – they are the ones targeted the most by terrorists

Perception and media management also come into play here, Dr Sullivan-Taylor points out. “In China a bomb went off during the Beijing Olympics. It was far away from Beijing and nothing to do with the Olympics but the media immediately linked the two events.” It’s important to communicate well with industry and the public so as to nip any scare stories in the bud.

The latest broader study seeks to discover whether the findings from the travel sector are indicative of other sectors. "It is no use waiting until the water is lapping around your ankles or your fleet of vehicles has no fuel before your organisation decides to develop a plan." says Dr Sullivan-Taylor. The research project funded by a lot of sponsors, Assessing Organisational Resilience: The Capacity of Organisations to cope with the Threat or Actuality of Extreme Events, will seek to identify ways in which organisational resilience - in both the public and the private sectors - might be embedded and enhanced, not least through the transfer of best practice within and between sectors."

The study, focusing on critical national infrastructure, will compare other sectors and regions. It aims to provide best practice and practitioner-related guidelines. Over 80 per cent of critical national infrastructure is owned by private companies and the study will question whether some sectors should be more regulated by the government or not.

SOLAR was established in 2002. It has close links with the strategic management and organisational behaviour subject groups in Warwick Business School and with other UK and international universities. For more information on the tourism study read the attached paper.

Developing Businesses Capacity to Cope with Uncertainty

Dr Bridgette Sullivan-Taylor works in the SOLAR Research Unit in the Marketing and Strategic Management Group at Warwick Business School. She has previously held management positions in both private and public sector organisations in New Zealand and the UK. Her interests lie in the strategic management and international business fields.

Colleagues working on SOLAR research with her include Dr Layla Branicki, Dr Alex Wilson, Gareth Owen, Amy Stephenson, Veronique Steyer, Richard Stolz and Felix von Shwanewede.

By Penelope Jenkins