Question

While society expects a business to be prepared for disasters and to recover using its own resources, we do not seem to expect individuals to be prepared to survive a disaster. Should we expect government at any level to be responsible for disaster recovery at either the personal or business level? Why or why not? What sacrifices would a business have to make if the disaster recovery process were turned over to a government agency?

Answer 1

Success or failure in any business depends not only on the socio-economic viability but also the political viability of the the project. The present question can be answered in three different parts.

Firstly, government should be and is (atleast in part) held responsible for personal disaster. The clearly defined rules of the judicial system combined with the promise of social security is exactly that - emotional and physiological security. Being aware of the risk and uncertainties of life would be futile as life in itself in unpredictable. Hence a social guarantee is a must to see growth in any society. Individuals without any guarantee of disaster recovery would find it too easy to rebel (but not enough motive to actually change things).

Secondly, disaster recovery at the business level should not be completely handed over to a government agency. This is because of the argument that an acute sense of ownership is present in a favourable business environment which will lose its place. However, managed disaster recovery is a must. Both the government and business must coordinate to achieve financial and social stability after a disaster. In that I mean promotion of a fair market without excessive poilitical interference.

Lastly, if the disaster recovery process were handed over to a government agency, the businessmen would have nothing to fight for as they know they always have something to fall back upon in case of losses. This will have huge economic implications as one could argue that it will attract foreign investment, but the domestic industry will suffer. The entrepreneurial stories would get shallow.

All at the end is a conjecture and one can make as many pros as cons for the question to be answered in yes or no. The major factor to be considered still remains political impact and feasibility.