The Role and Importance of Security System in Organizations, Research Paper Example

Abstract

The current paper shows the role and importance of security system in organizations. It is obvious that organizations must be better prepared to emergency situations. A good security system is an effective means to protect organizations from security risks and losses. The paper provides a detailed plan of developing and implementing a security system. The importance and positive role of a good security system in emergency situations are discussed.

Introduction

Modern companies work in difficult conditions. Numerous crises and emergency situations lead to human and material losses. Businessmen and professional managers understand the value of good security systems for business, but they either lack professional skills necessary make these systems work, or do not want to spend significant costs needed to create an effective system of security at workplace. Recent emergency crises like Hurricane Katrina and September 9/11 show that for a company to have a good security system means to have better chances to survive. Emergency situations in corporations and small companies are not uncommon, and they often cause significant material and non-material losses, which may even lead to bankruptcy. For these reasons, managers should be particularly attentive to how security systems work and what can be done to make their companies better prepared to various kinds of emergency situations.

Problem Definition

Organizations work in complex conditions. The growing number of emergencies and security issues make organizations develop effective security systems and functions. Because many organizations are not willing to create and support such systems, they lose thousands and millions of dollars when facing an emergency situation. The problem of security in organizations becomes even more significant, given the value of human life and employee safety at workplace. The lack of security knowledge and training, as well as the lack of security equipment and professional security staff create an atmosphere, in which employees and managers are simply unable to react to emergency situations in due time. For these reasons, organizations can develop and implement effective security systems.

For an organization to lack a good security system also means to lack knowledge and skills necessary to manage emergencies. That is why organizations must develop and run good security systems and functions. However, developing and implementing reliable security systems in organizations is impossible without having a detailed plan of action.

To begin with, businesses must have a clear vision of how a security system must work. That means that a detailed picture of what security function is, how it will work, where it will reside, and what functions it will fulfill must become the first step to improving the quality of security in an organization. Managers and employees must be able to justify the need for such security system at workplace. To make it possible, an organization will have to make a detailed analysis of the current level of security, the current security standards and norms, and the current level of compliance to these norms and standards.

The second stage of resolving security issues in an organization is hiring one or several professionals, who will create and support the new security system. Generally, large firms will be more likely to use external security professionals, while for a small firm it is better to hire a security professional, who will create and support such system on a full-time basis.

Third, security professionals must make the detailed analysis of the current state of security in the organization. Security professionals must review available security equipment, the quality and the level of security training among employees, and create a list of resources they may need to improve the quality of security in all company divisions. Such analysis is necessary to identify possible security gaps, previous security failures, their reasons and consequences, and the ways of making security improvements.

Fourth, the results of this review will be used to create a new security budget. Because creating such budget is impossible without security professionals’ participation, and because creating such budget is impossible without a detailed analysis of security equipment and functions in the organization, budgeting will become only the fourth step in the process of improving security system in the organization. The budget must show (a) the costs needed to create a reliable security system and (b) the costs needed to maintain the due level of security in the organization. The company must regularly review and change the budget to address its changing security needs.

After managers complete and approve the budget, security professionals will begin implementing the system. Implementation of a security system and function will take some time, because it will require hiring additional staff, buying additional equipment, and training new employees to work with this equipment. Also, security professionals will need time to grasp the meaning of their obligations and responsibilities.

The new system of security will not work effectively without employees having security knowledge and skills. Employees and managers in all company divisions must understand how to react, to report, and to address different emergency situations. They should know how to behave in an emergency situation. They should be able to avoid panic and hysteria, which lead to even greater human and financial losses. Security training must be regular, to make sure that employees do not lose valuable security skills and that in any situation they can take weighed and balanced (reasonable) decisions.

Finally, after the new system of security is developed and implemented, the security personnel and officials must review the quality of their work. Such reviews must be regular (at least, once a year). The final review must show, how a security system works, what difficulties security professionals and employees may encounter when working with the system, how they can address these difficulties, and what knowledge other employees may need to support security staff in emergency situations. It is possible, that in the process of review security professionals will simulate an emergency situation. In this way, managers, and the security professionals will have a chance to see (or at least, to suggest) how emergency situations impact business operations and the staff. They will also see how the system works and whether they need to modify it to satisfy specific organizational needs.

Conclusion

The process of creating a well-developed system of security is long and difficult. It requires a detailed analysis of the current level of security in the company. Organizations must be prepared to hire additional staff, to create security budgets, and to review the quality of security performance at different levels of organizational structure. Employees must possess the basic emergency knowledge and skills. Security equipment must be cost-effective. Without a good security equipment and function, organizations will not be able to address emerging security issues. The lack of a good security system will lead to employee confusion and significant material and human losses.