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Crisis management and business continuity management (BCM) are often spoken of as if they were the same thing. They are close relatives, they work together, and in a small organisation the same people may carry out both. But they answer different questions, use different tools and are triggered by different circumstances. Jamiyah Home for the Aged (JHA) will make better decisions, and waste less effort, if its Board and senior staff understand the difference.
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This chapter compares the two disciplines using the definitions published by BCMpedia and draws a parallel distinction between a disaster, the territory of BCM, and a crisis scenario, the territory of crisis management. It then applies both to the realities of a home for elderly residents and aligns the discussion with ISO 22361.
Why the distinction matters
Confusion between the two disciplines causes three practical problems.
First, gaps. If everyone assumes that the business continuity plan covers "everything that could go wrong", nobody prepares for a crisis that causes no physical damage. A safeguarding allegation, a financial shortfall or a damaging rumour does not stop the kitchen working, so a continuity plan built around loss of premises or systems will not help.
Second, wrong tools. A crisis that is really a threat to trust and leadership is sometimes handled with technical recovery procedures, while a physical disaster is sometimes handled with a communications strategy and little else.
Third, duplication and conflict. Two teams, two sets of contact lists and two reporting lines, each unaware of the other, slow a response when speed matters most.
A clear understanding lets JHA decide which discipline leads in a given situation, how they hand over to each other and where they share people and resources.
The four definitions
The BCMpedia definitions are summarised below in plain language.
Disaster. A disaster is an unexpected, unplanned event that causes major harm or loss and leaves the organisation unable to carry out its critical activities for longer than it can accept. It usually arrives suddenly, cuts the organisation off from people, premises or systems, and may exceed management's ability to cope without outside help. A fire that makes a floor of the building unusable is a disaster in this sense.
Crisis scenario. A crisis scenario is a possible situation, built on reasonable assumptions, that could disrupt an organisation and may require people to step in and act to resolve it. Crisis scenarios are often linked to threats. They include situations that develop slowly and situations that have no physical impact at all, such as damaging allegations or loss of confidence.
Crisis management. Crisis management is the coordinated effort to respond quickly and effectively to a crisis to limit harm to the organisation's finances, reputation, or ability to operate. It covers the time before a crisis (planning and risk reduction), during it (resolving the situation) and after it (recovery). It often involves quick decisions with incomplete information, and it can also address secondary effects such as damage to public trust.
Business continuity management. Business continuity management is the process of identifying the threats to an organisation and their potential impact, and building the capability to keep delivering critical products and services, or to restore them within an acceptable time, when disruption occurs. Its international standard is ISO 22301. Key tools include business impact analysis, continuity strategies and plans, and regular testing.
Disaster compared with crisis scenario
The two terms overlap, because a disaster can cause a crisis and a crisis can sometimes lead to a disaster. The differences are nonetheless real.
| Feature | Disaster (BCM) | Crisis scenario (CM) |
|---|---|---|
| Typical onset | Sudden, unplanned | Sudden or gradual |
| Main concern | Loss of ability to deliver critical activities | Threat to people, reputation, trust, viability or strategy |
| Physical damage | Usually present | Not necessarily present |
| Core question | How do we keep or restore our critical activities? | How do we lead, decide and communicate while the situation is uncertain? |
| Typical response | Activate continuity and recovery plans; relocate or restore | Activate the crisis team; assess, decide, communicate, protect stakeholders |
| Success looks like | Critical activities back within agreed time | Harm limited, trust protected, situation resolved and lessons learned |
| Example at JHA | A fire closes one wing; residents must be relocated | A damaging allegation spreads online |
Notice that the right-hand column covers situations where JHA's buildings and systems are working perfectly. This is why a home that has a continuity plan but no crisis management capability still has a serious gap.
Crisis management compared with business continuity management
The disciplines can be compared across several dimensions.
| Dimension | Business continuity management | Crisis management |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Keeping critical activities running or restoring them in time | Leading the organisation through a threatening, uncertain situation |
| Trigger | Disruption to activities, premises, people, technology or suppliers | Any event that threatens people, reputation, strategy or viability |
| Time horizon | Hours, days or weeks of disruption | From early warning through to long-term recovery of trust |
| Main tools | Business impact analysis, recovery strategies, continuity plans, tests | Crisis team, decision protocols, communication plans, scenario exercises |
| Main people | Activity owners, facilities, IT and operational teams | Senior leaders, crisis team, communications lead |
| Typical output | Continuity plans with recovery steps and timings | Crisis plan with roles, escalation, communication and decision aids |
| Key skill | Systematic planning | Judgement under pressure |
| Governing guidance | ISO 22301 | ISO 22361 |
A helpful shorthand: business continuity management is mainly about what we must keep doing, while crisis management is mainly about how we lead and decide when things go wrong. Both serve the same end: protecting residents and the organisation.
Applying the distinction at JHA
The table below shows how some realistic situations at a home for the aged would be handled, and which discipline would lead.
| Situation | Nature | Lead discipline | Supporting discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire in the kitchen makes the catering area unusable for weeks | Disaster affecting a critical activity | BCM: arrange alternative meals, temporary kitchen | CM: communicate with families and MSF if the event is serious |
| Prolonged power failure on a hot night | Disaster, with high risk to residents | BCM for alternative power and cooling; CM for leadership of the overall response | Both |
| Allegation of mistreatment of a resident circulates on social media | Crisis scenario with no physical damage | CM: fact-finding, safeguarding, communication, regulator liaison | BCM: only if operations are disrupted |
| Suspected infectious disease cluster among residents and staff | Crisis that may also disrupt operations through staff absence | CM: leadership and external coordination | BCM: staffing cover, supplies, isolation arrangements |
| Sudden loss of a major source of funds | Crisis scenario that may become an operational problem | CM: leadership decisions, stakeholder communication, fundraising response | BCM: reduced-service options if needed |
| Cyber attack that locks resident records | Technology disaster and possible data crisis | BCM and IT recovery for restoration; CM for notification, communication and decisions | Both |
| Aggressive confrontation by a visitor, threatening staff | Crisis scenario involving safety | CM: safety, security, police, staff support | BCM: only if operations are disrupted |
Three lessons emerge. First, most serious events call on both disciplines, with one leading. Second, the decision about which one leads is itself a leadership judgement that should be made early. Third, a crisis that is mishandled in its early hours can create the disruption that BCM then has to repair.
How the two fit together
The two disciplines connect in both directions.
From crisis management to BCM. A crisis may escalate until normal operations are affected, for example, when a public health event means many staff cannot work. At that point, the crisis team may activate the business continuity plan, which sets out how critical activities will be maintained at a reduced level and restored.
From BCM to crisis management. A disruption handled by the continuity team may begin to threaten reputation or safety, for example, when a long outage leads to resident distress and angry relatives. The response leaders then need to bring in the crisis team.
In practice, JHA should agree in advance who has the authority to activate each plan, how the two teams communicate, and which person sits on both. In a home of JHA's size, a small number of senior people will usually be members of both teams. This is sensible, as long as the roles are clear and each person has a nominated alternate.
A simple rule of thumb for JHA could be: if the question is "how do we keep care going?", BCM leads; if the question is "what do we decide, say and do about a situation that threatens residents, trust or the organisation?", crisis management leads. Where both questions arise, the Superintendent decides which leads and records the decision.
The role of the standards
Two international standards give guidance on these disciplines. ISO 22301 sets requirements for a business continuity management system. ISO 22361 gives guidelines for crisis management. ISO 22361 recognises that crisis management overlaps with related disciplines such as business continuity, risk management, emergency management and security, while treating crisis management as a distinct subject with its own leadership, decision-making and communication demands.
For JHA, the practical message is that it does not need to choose between the standards. It needs a crisis management capability built on ISO 22361 and a business continuity capability built on ISO 22301 that fit together, share information and avoid duplicating work. This eBook series concentrates on the first. A separate business continuity programme can build on the same organisation profile and risk assessment.
Types of crises that affect JHA
ISO 22361 asks organisations to consider the range of crises that could affect them, including those that arise internally and externally, those that develop quickly or slowly, and those that touch many stakeholders at once. For JHA, the relevant range includes:
- events affecting the physical safety of residents, such as fire, flooding, building failure or extreme weather;
- public health events, such as infectious disease outbreaks;
- failures of technology and data;
- events involving the conduct of staff, volunteers or management, including safeguarding concerns;
- confrontations and acts of violence;
- rumours, misinformation and loss of public trust; and
- loss of funding or other resources.
Chapter 5 sets out a formal classification of crisis scenarios and applies it to JHA.
Practical implications for JHA
Four decisions follow from this chapter.
- Decide how the two disciplines will be organised. For most homes of this kind, a single leadership group with two sets of tools is more practical than two separate teams.
- Write down the activation rules. Who can activate the crisis plan, who can activate the continuity plan, and what are the triggers?
- Align with the incident management requirements in the Code of Practice under the Social Residential Homes Act 2025 so routine incident reporting, crisis escalation, and continuity activation use the same alert language.
- Use the same organisation profile and risk assessment for both to avoid repeating work and ensure the two plans do not contradict each other.
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Summary
Business continuity management and crisis management share a purpose but differ in focus. BCM keeps critical activities going or restores them within an acceptable time after a disaster. Crisis management helps leaders decide, communicate and act when a situation threatens people, trust or the organisation's survival, whether or not anything physical has been damaged.
For JHA, both are needed. The next chapter looks closely at the crisis scenarios that crisis management exists to address and shows what each could look like for a home caring for elderly and destitute residents.
