Faculty Contact Information:
William G. Stewart, Ph.D.
email: bstewart@faculty.ed.umuc.edu | |
Consultation:
Office hours: Contact anytime via email.
Details of contact: Online availability daily during the week; expect response within 24 hours to queries, weekends and holidays excepted. | |
Required Texts and Readings:
- (ANAO) Australian National Audit Office. (2000). Business continuity management - keeping the wheels in motion. Available from: http://www.anao.gov.au/director/publications/betterpracguides.cfm . It is on the 3rd page of the website and the only practice guide from 2000.
- (NRP) U.S. Department of Homeland Security. (2004). National response plan. Downloadable PDF from http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/NRPbaseplan.pdf for the base plan and appendices. The full version, including the annexes on Emergency Support Functions, Support, and Incidents, is downloadable from http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/nspd/hspd-7.html http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/NRP_FullText.pdf. The base plan and appendices PDF is also in the class Webliography.
- Sheffi, Y. (2005). The resilient enterprise: Overcoming vulnerability for competitive advantage. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-19537-2.
An optional text for this course is:
- McCrackan, A. (2005). Practical guide to business continuity assurance. Boston, MA: Artech House. ISBN 1-58053-927-0.
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Supplementary Readings:
The standard for papers in the graduate program is the APA style. All participants in this course and all graduate ITEC, HSMN, INFA, TMAN, SWEN, UCSP, INSS, MGMT, PUAD, and ECON courses should have a copy of the style guide:
American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington DC: Author.
All graduate students should be prepared to utilize the UMUC online library. The library contains a large number of full text academic journals that are free of charge and immediately available. The library homepage also contains a number of links related to improving students' research and writing skills. | |
Recommended Journals:
The following is a sampling of periodicals--both academic and popular--suggested (not required) as resources. Some are available through the University System of Maryland libraries, some directly over the Web. Many are available in the full-text databases you can access from the UMUC Library Web page. They will provide you with current information regarding developments in emergency and crisis management practices.
Publications of the various professional societies (such as ACM -- the Association for Computing Machinery, the IEEE Computing Society, and the various management professional societies) are strongly recommended. In addition, there are many trade journals (such as eWEEK) that IT professionals should become familiar with, many of these being published both weekly and on-line. | |
Course Description:
| An in-depth examination of managerial and technical strategies for maintaining enterprise resiliency in the face of man-made or natural disruptions to business operations. The course emphasizes the importance of advanced planning and explores techniques for performing business risk assessment and potential incident impact analysis. Alternative models for supporting contingency operations, including the use of Service Level Agreements, are discussed. Key activities and processes involved in post-event business resumption, including the recovery of key information assets, are reviewed. Various formal Business Continuity standards such as ISO 17799 are also introduced. Actual and hypothetical cases are analyzed to reinforce course concepts. | |
Course Goals:
Upon successful completion of this course, the student should understand and be able to apply knowledge concerning:
- Man-made and natural threats to enterprises and communities.
- Activities and strategies for risk assessment, management, and mitigation.
- Activities and strategies for emergency management and business continuity.
- Creation and communication of business continuity plans.
- Current and emerging issues and trends in business continuity planning and disaster recovery.
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Course Objectives:
Upon successful completion, the student should be able to:
- Identify the critical resources that are key factors for continuity
- Establish risk profiles in terms of potential threats arising from man-made or natural causes as well as vulnerabilities beyond an organization’s direct control
- Evaluate alternative risk mitigation, response, and disaster recovery strategies.
- Describe major industry and government standards that relate to business continuity
- Utilize a continuity checklist to assess an organization’s disaster readiness
- Develop plans and sub-plans for emergency or crisis management
- Assess an overall emergency or crisis program
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Grading Information:
Grades for this course will be assigned as follows:
A . . . 90% and above
B . . . 80 up to 90%
C . . . 70 up to 80%
F . . . Below 70%
Please note that UMUC-Europe does not use "D" for graduate students. The grade "F" is used to designate academic failure. "FN" is used to designate failure for non-completion. Grades of Incomplete or Withdrawal are governed by UMUC-Europe policies. For further details, please refer to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog, available in your local Education Center or online at http://www.ed.umuc.edu/general_info/publications/catalogs.
The grade of "B" represents the benchmark for the Graduate School. It indicates the student has demonstrated competency in the subject matter of the course, i.e., has fulfilled all course requirements on time, has a clear grasp of the full range of course materials and concepts, and is able to present and apply these materials and concepts in clear, reasoned, well-organized and grammatically correct responses, whether written or oral.
Only students who fully meet this standard and, in addition, who demonstrate exceptional comprehension and application of the course subject matter, merit an "A."
Students who do not meet the benchmark standard of competency fall within the "C" range or lower. They, in effect, have not met graduate level standards. Where this failure is substantial, they earn an "F."
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Course Requirements:
Graduate school at the master's level focuses on helping students obtain the education needed for success as professionals in their chosen fields. Thus, UMUC-Europe Graduate Programs have the goal of promoting excellence in academic scholarship through thoughtful inquiry and the skillful application of knowledge and theory for the betterment of society. In order to maximize your graduate educational experience in general and this course in particular, you are evaluated on:
Class Participation . . . . 15%
Midterm examination . . . . 30%
Research paper . . . . . . .25%
Final examination . . . . . 30% | |
Description of Course Requirements:
Successful graduate students in American universities dedicate approximately three hours of preparation/study time for every hour spent in the face-to-face classroom. Thus, the following course requirements were developed on the assumption that students would be prepared to spend approximately 150 hours of their own time working on them. Most 10-week graduate distance education courses require at least 12 hours per week of dedicated time, plus time spent in the virtual classroom.
Class Participation: You are expected to be prepared to and actively engage in all virtual discussions, as scheduled, in a professional and informed manner. Late submission of any class assignment is not a mark of satisfactory class participation. Valid reasons for being late with an assignment include duty-related (TDY) travel and bona fide family emergencies. Being 'very busy' at work or at home or with other classes is not a valid reason for late submission of assignments in this class. Serious grading penalties will be awarded for lack of timeliness in submitting class work.
Write graduate level papers: You are required to conduct graduate student/professional-level research, including appropriately citing works of others and avoiding plagiarism. For this class, each student will prepare a formal research paper that may well prove useful later in the capstone seminar class that is part of the UMUC-Europe MSIT program.
Research Paper: Each student will write an original research paper. The paper will be approximately 10-12 pages long and will follow APA editorial style. The project must concern a business continuity topic that is related to the broader domain of Homeland Security to include some mention of information technology themes.
Written examinations: A midterm and final exam are scheduled. The examination process in this class will assist you in developing an perfecting the writing and critical thinking skills necessary for successful completion of a program of graduate study.
STATEMENT ON WRITING REQUIREMENTS:
Effective managers and leaders are also effective communicators. Written communication is an important element of the total communication process. The Graduate School recognizes and expects exemplary writing to be the norm for course work. To this end, all analyses and papers must demonstrate graduate level writing ability and comply with the format requirements of the Publications Manual of the American Psychological Association. All writing assignments will be graded on the basis of content, logic, analysis, mechanics, organization, and research. Careful attention should be given to in-line parenthetical source citations, proper listing of references, and the presentation of tables and graphs. Work submitted online should follow standard procedures for formatting and citation.
POLICY ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
Academic integrity is central to the learning and teaching process. Students are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that will contribute to the maintenance of academic integrity by making all reasonable efforts to prevent the occurrence of academic dishonesty. Academic dishonesty includes (but is not limited to) obtaining or giving aid on an examination, having unauthorized prior knowledge of an examination, doing work for another student, and plagiarism of all types.
COURSE EVALUATIONS:
Feedback on each graduate course and instructor is important to the university, your professor, and to all UMUC students. UMUC has the responsibility to assess the effectiveness of classroom instruction, and each student has the responsibility to provide accurate and timely feedback through completion of the course evaluation form. This is a shared obligation for us all. It is therefore important that you complete the evaluation form for each course you attend. This should be viewed as an additional course and program requirement. | |
Course Schedule:
Week. . Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . Assignments
.1 . . .Continuity & Risk Concepts . . Course Intro Activities
.2 . . .Disruptions & Vulnerability
.3 . . .Supply Chain Mgmt (SCM) . . . .Research Paper Hypothesis
.4 . . .SCM & Reducing Vulnerability
.5 . . .Comprehensive . . . . . . . . .Midterm Exam
.6 . . .Business Continuity Process
.7 . . .Business Continuity Process
.8 . . .Building Flexibility
.9 . . .Moving Ahead . . . . . . . . . Research Paper
10. . . Comprehensive . . . . . . . . .Final Exam | |
Academic Policies:
| The University has a license agreement with Turnitin.com, a service that helps prevent plagiarism from internet resources. I may be using this service in this class by either requiring students to submit their papers electronically to Turnitin.com or by submitting questionable text on behalf of a student. If you or I submit part or all of your paper, it will be stored by Turnitin.com in their database throughout the term of the University's contract with Turnitin.com. If you object to this temporary storage of your paper, you must let me know no later than two weeks after the start of this class. Please Note: If you object to the storage of your paper on Turnitin.com, I may utilize other services to check your work for plagiarism.
The official university policy on Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty can be found at http://www.umuc.edu/policy/aa15025.shtml. Section I.C. states: "Faculty may determine if the resubmission of course work from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC), partially or in its entirety, is acceptable when assigning a grade on that piece of course work. Faculty must provide this information in their written syllabi. If the resubmission of course work is deemed to be unacceptable, a charge may not be brought under this Policy and will be handled as indicated in the written syllabi."
Please refer to Description of Course Requirements for specific information on how resubmissions will be treated in this course.
Students with disabilities should contact the appropriate support office at UMUC-Europe.
Jan Keller, Director of Student Services
UMUC-Europe, Heidelberg
Phone: +49-6221-378299
Email: edstudent_svc@ed.umuc.edu
Mailing Address: Unit 29216, APO AE 09102 OR Im Bosseldorn 30, D-69126 Heidelberg, Germany
Please refer to the UMUC-Europe Graduate Catalog for information on the following:
Academic Integrity
Course Load
Exception to Policy
Grade Appeal Process
Make-up Examinations
Nondiscrimination
Code of Civility
Hard copies of the catalog are available at your local Education Center. | |
Faculty Bio:
William G. Stewart, Ph.D., Collegiate Professor of Public Administration & Management Information Systems
Dr. Bill Stewart completed the Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership at the University of Oklahoma, writing a dissertation on perceptions of leadership and management in the Armed Forces of the United States. He received the M.B.A. from the University of South Dakota and the B.A. in International Relations and German from Brigham Young University. He joined the University of Maryland University College-Europe faculty in 1990, after retiring from the U.S. Air Force. There, he served as a bomber pilot, performed operational and staff functions in Minuteman ICBM operations, and carried out senior staff duties in international politico-military affairs for Germany and the United Kingdom. | |