Understanding Threats, Vulnerabilities, and Consequences
You are to analyze threats, vulnerabilities, and consequences for an organization you are very familiar with; a major purpose of the exerciseis to uncover weaknesses that need to be corrected. You are to INTERVIEW (preferably in person, but by phone or other means ifnecessary) people to gather the information, and then write up your results. NO RESEARCH in published sources is required to complete this assignment. NOTE: If you are re-taking this course, you must choose a different organization.
Through successful completion of this assignment, you will:
CAUTION: Follow the instructions! Use the attached template!
Definitions:
Step 1: Select an organization you are familiar with and that will allow you to interview at least 2 other people who are also familiar with it. This organization may be where you work, a business or community group (e.g., your auto repair shop, your doctor’s office,your child’s school, your homeowners association), or local government. NOTE: If you have taken this course before, you must select adifferent organization as your subject.
Step 2: Interview at least 2 people to brainstorm with you. If you cannot get them together at the same time, that is okay. It’s fine ifyou need to keep the names of the interview subjects or specific organization anonymous at their request or for the sake ofconfidentiality, but please use pseudonyms for easy reference.
First, identify at least 5 assets of the organization that are at risk; that is, harm to one or more of the assets would impact the organization’sability to function normally. Be sure to consider both tangible and intangible assets.
Second, identify at least 20 threats/threat agents, along with the associated vulnerabilities and potential consequences faced over the next 2 – 5 years. For threats, think about what would cause significant harm. But be realistic; for example, if the organization is located in Miami, ablizzard is not likely.
Use both of these perspectives:
For example:
Threats | Vulnerabilities | Consequences |
Earthquake | Lack of structural hardeningFurniture not properly bracedLocation near known fault line | Building damage or collapseInjury to or death of occupants |
Table 2: Disruptive Business or Management Crises
Threats | Vulnerabilities | Consequences |
Agingworkforceabout toretire | HR department not inclined tochange | Loss of institutional knowledgeLack of staff to handle workload |
Fraud | Incompetent auditors
Culture of not speaking up aboutproblems |
Financial loss
Reputation becomes negative |
You must have a TOTAL of 20 threats across the 2 tables; for example, 12 threats in the Disasters table and 8 threats in theBusiness Crises table. Be sure that the information is clear and easily understandable.
Note: if you use written or Internet-based sources to develop your lists, you must cite them in a reference list. But to cite the interviews,those are NOT in the reference list. Just cite them in the text. For example: Blizzards are not a realistic threat in Miami (I. Renda-Tanai,personal communications, October 1, 2017). Do not cite personal communications in the tables.
Step 3: Then discuss with your brainstorming team the obstacles to getting people to:
Step 4: Write your report. The report must include the following sections, using the template provided:
Note: You are the subject-matter expert for the brainstorming and you are responsible for editing the information in your final paper. Ifthe people you interviewed mix up threats and consequences (for example), put the information in the correct places. Do not simplyaccept verbatim what your brainstorming team said.
Fill out the attached template for the assignment.
Put your name on the top of the first page. Do not use a title page, an abstract, or a table of contents. If you cite any references, follow theAPA guidelines; the template has a section for references.
Paragraphs should form a logical sequence. Your sentences should be written clearly and succinctly and should also form a logicalsequence. Use single- spacing, with double spacing between paragraphs.
The length should be approximately 1200-2000 words (including the tables). NOTE: Quality of the information you provide is far moreimportant than length.
The document must be a Microsoft Word .doc file or a rich text format (.rtf) file. Other file formats are not acceptable.