Critical Infrastructure Protection Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Critical Infrastructure Protection - Assignment Example However, what is clear is that the intelligence agencies failed to protect the country from such catastrophes. To prevent such attacks in the future and to ensure that America becomes a secure country to live in and do business, George Walker Bush, undertook a proactive move that led to the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security. The move to establish the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was informed by the need to protect the U.S. against terrorism as its main mission, according to the White House (2003). DHS has 22 different federal agencies charged with different roles aimed at ensuring that the country is safeguarded from terrorist threats. The fact that DHS had 22 different federal departments made it the third largest Federal department in the country. Operation and responsibilities of the DHS The responsibilities of the Department of Homeland Security as far as prevention and emergency response are concerned are four folds. The first major responsibility of DHS is safeguarding the United States by preventing terrorism and enhancing national security (Charvat, 2012). According to the White House (2003), safeguarding the U.S. and its citizens from terrorism was the cornerstone for its formation, following the 9/11 incident. The 9/11 incident exposed the country’s vulnerability to terrorism of whatever kind. Therefore, in response to the incident, the then president, George Walker Bush found it necessary to form an independent department responsible for safeguarding the country from terrorist threats. The DHS is also responsible for securing the U.S. borders. In fulfilling its mandate of safeguarding the country against terrorism, DHS also focuses on the prevention of unauthorized importation, acquisition, or use of nuclear, biological, and chemical materials and capabilities within the country’s borders. In addition, the DHS is responsible for safeguarding the U.S cyberspace from attack by malicious actors. Further, the DHS is charged with the responsibility of ensuring the country’s resilience to disaster (Filippini, Giannopoulos, and Schimmer 2012). Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) initiatives The U.S. critical infrastructure consists of power plants, highways, cyber networks, bridges, telecommunication, banking, water system financial institutions, emergency services and transport system, both government and private that are critical for the effective and efficient functioning of the country. These critical infrastructures have become vulnerable to attack by terrorists in the past decades. As such, the DHS has a responsibility of identifying, evaluating, and protecting these critical infrastructures from acts of terrorism, sabotage, or disasters. Therefore, the Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) initiatives are measures and techniques developed to protect the country’s critical infrastructures from terrorist attacks, sabotage, or disasters. The critical infrastructures p rotected in this case include physical assets, people, and cyber system that are important for the development of the country (Filippini, Giannopoulos, and Schimmer 2012). The DHS in conjunction with other security agencies ensures that America’s critical assets are protected from terrorism, disasters, and sabotage by ensuring the U.S. borders are safeguarded. Securing borders in this case implies the

Starkey HR Ltd Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Starkey HR Ltd - Essay Example Redundancies should be a matter of last resort. Starkey must initially make efforts to identify the employees with special skills and experience and retain them. Reducing working time, pay cut, temporary leaves, less dependence on casual staff are some of the desirable measures. If redundancies are inevitable, a voluntary redundancy scheme should be employed. The offers of the scheme should be clearly outlined and sent to all applicable employees. In case of forced redundancies, the method of selection should be fair and non-discriminatory that takes the expertise and experience into consideration.Redundancy is enhanced in companies where statutory entitlements are low. The redundancy packages in most EU countries are quite high in comparison to the UK with a few exceptions such as the Netherlands and France. The average redundancy pay in the EU is more than twice the amount paid by employers in the UK. Under EU regulation, workers are supposed to be informed and consulted in any cas e of redundancies. Additionally, companies need to determine a threshold level for the redundancy and are determined by the size of the workforce and number of required redundancies.Forecasting allows a business to create and modify the financial and promotional strategy of a company in addition to allowing it to keep track of the performance of all requisite parameters, which play a crucial role in decision making and implementing the required changes to existing strategy.