dis-as-ter n. [OFr desastre; It disastro; L dis- + astrum; Gr astron (see Astral), star: from astrological notions: cf. ILL-STARRED] any happening that causes great harm or damage; serious or sudden misfortune; calamity. By the dictionary definition, we are all ill-starred at the moment.
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With banks scrutinizing borrowers more closely and reducing their lending, business owners in Rhode Island and throughout the country have increasingly used high-rate credit cards to pay bills.
When the economy slumps into a recession – as it has in the last year – many companies have to make tough decisions about whether to cut staff or close a facility. And the results of those decisions can have an effect on the company’s property and the amount of risk that it faces.
After 30 years in public safety, J. David Smith knows the importance of the business community in times of disaster. Smith, a former police chief in Westerly and Narragansett and public safety director at Roger Williams University, says businesses are often the first to lend a hand to emergency responders, and getting companies up and running again can be a first step to a return to normalcy.
If a business does not have a disaster-response / business-continuity plan, it has no one to blame but itself. There are many resources out there to help company owner / managers start and complete a plan that mitigates the effects of the inevitable disasters that befall us all.
In the face of repeated warnings about terrorist attacks, hurricanes and flu pandemics, many businesses in recent years have put together plans for how they would handle a disaster. For smaller companies, though, the task is made more difficult because of limited staff and budget resources.
The Providence Business News Executive Poll is a weekly survey of 70 business leaders throughout the state, representing small and large companies in a variety of industries.
