Prepare Disaster Plan Template And Guidelines: Fill & Download for Free

Here is an excerpt from my book about business plans.No one seriously considers going into business without some kind of business plan, just like no one would consider undertaking any serious endeavour without giving it serious thought beforehand. For example, the coach of a professional sports team, prior to each game, will formulate a game plan which will not only be discussed with the team members, but also rehearsed in practices. Months before a boxer enters the ring for his big match, his coach will have developed a plan that will take advantage of his boxer’s strongest qualities, compensate for weaknesses and assesses the opponent in the same way. Then the training will begin.There are many business plan variations which can be found on the internet and you can even get a template and just fill in the blanks. But a basic business plan usually has Legal Structure (corporation, general or limited partnership, sole proprietorship), Operating Plan, (objectives and goals, location, fixed assets, inventory, tactics, guidelines, employee structure), Financial Projections (a monthly forecast of income and expenses which will explain how the start-up capital will be used and how long it will last), Marketing And Sales (information about the industry, your target market’s size and composition, and how you intend to penetrate that market), and an Appendix (licenses, permits, profit and loss projections for the next few months and perhaps few years).THE BENEFITS OF A BUSINESS PLANA typical business plan, which usually projects operations for at least the first 12 months, has a number of advantages. It can:Determine whether your potential business has a chance of making a good profit.Your financial projections will help you determine your start-up costs, and how much you'll need to invest or finance. The monthly cash-flow projections will allow you to estimate your monthly shortages until profits are achieved.A detailed plan will help to convince investors and lenders to fund your business.Help you to compete in the marketplace.Anticipate and help solve potential problems ahead of time.·Writing things down in detail clarifies ideas much better than thinking about them. Once written down, those ideas can be discussed with others to further clarify or to challenge the ideas.It also helps you recognize, document and process your emotions.So, when I went in business, did I fail the plan or did the plan fail me?EXPECT TO BE PUNCHED IN THE MOUTHBusiness plans, like life in general, are unpredictable. As pro boxer Mike Tyson once said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”In developing my plan, I made a lot of grossly inaccurate assumptions. At the time, starting out as a commercial broker in my own business seemed to be a rational choice since I had been a competent credit analyst at the bank. I assumed that with my knowledge about financial statements and business processes I would be able to do an excellent job for small businesses seeking business financing. It was a small town and I assumed that once the word got out, business would start coming in the door. I assumed that there was an unfilled need for my services. I also assumed that when I did get a prospect, I would be able to negotiate a fair fee for my services.But I learned that being knowledgeable in your trade helps you to do a good job - but it doesn’t get you the job. Relying on word of mouth for advertising is great if your cash-flow will last long enough for those referrals to trickle in. And even if there is a need for your services in the marketplace, you still need to be found. I also discovered that when you are desperate, you are afraid to charge a fair fee for your product or service for fear of the client walking away.I now know that simply going through the motions of preparing a business plan is a plan for failure. Business plans are absolutely necessary, and the process makes complete sense.But, aside from the general uncertainties of business, the common instructions for a business plan fail to explain that your revenue numbers have to be guessed. Like, made up. Conjured.Your business plan template will ask you to insert your best estimate for sales and expenses for each of the next 12 months. However, while expenses can usually be predicted with a high degree of accuracy, revenue for a new business cannot. In fact, it is impossible to determine for the following reasons: In order for the sales forecast for any new business to be accurate, it would have to be based on a real business similar to the brand new one, which was started up in an identical market, and which had the same amount of capital. But not only would you have to know of such a business, but you’d have to have known and duplicated that business’s processes which created its outcomes.Some may assume that an exception to this statement is a franchise, where all business processes are perfected and practised at each location. And there is no question that most of the large franchisors, like Subway or Burger King, are profitable. However, there is no guarantee that the franchise owner will be successful, particularly at a new unproven location. The very fact that franchises are so popular has created a situation where massive unit growth has saturated some markets, particularly in the fast-food business, thereby reducing margins for the franchisees to the point where ordinary salaries instead of juicy profits are generated for the owner.Therefore, while business plans are a necessary framework for a new start up, they will only be helpful if the revenue uncertainty issue can be largely resolved. In fact, it must be resolved. The primary purpose of this book is to provide you with the tools to do that.I really had no clue about predicting my sales for the first year. How could I? So, I did what I suspect a lot of new business owner wannabes do. Once I had calculated my estimated monthly expenses, I knew the amount of monthly sales that I would need to break even. The number for expenses then became my revenue goal. So, my start-up capital had to subsidize my monthly expenses until such time as either my sales reached my break-even point, or when my capital was gone. Based on this nifty sleight of hand I figured (guessed) that I had six months to reach that goal.START WITH A SPRINTHave you ever seen the speed walking races in the Olympics? I didn’t think so. It’s kind of like watching paint dry as the racers waddle along the track. But I was like one of those slow moving “speed” walkers who was trying to compete in the 100 meters dash. I should have exploded powerfully forward as the starting gun fired but instead, I sauntered slowly toward the finish line.My grand idea was to start making calls to prospects and potential referral sources and build up my sales over time. Trouble was, I was ignorant about marketing methods since I never had to do it before. At the bank the customers walked in the door. In business, no one walked in the door! As a result, I ended up virtually broke just before the magic six-month period was up.I learned a lot though. Ha, ha!First, marketing methods must be determined and developed before opening the doors. They must be fully functional and fully effective from the outset, otherwise the overhead will chew up your start-up capital. And usually, the amount of that capital is finite. And when it’s gone it’s gone. Therefore, you want sales to be robust from the moment you open the door. This means that instead of planning on spreading out your marketing expenditures evenly over the coming months, you must take a chance and invest a lump sum into advertising at the outset to jump start your revenue generating efforts, with appropriate amounts allotted monthly thereafter.Secondly, no single method can be relied on for success, since there is no way to accurately determine effectiveness for any marketing method, nor its timeline. Therefore, it must be assumed that multiple advertising methods or variations will be necessary. If this was in a war, and in some ways it is, it would be called carpet bombing. Because if the target is invisible, you are relying on luck to hit it with one shot. Ads are a work in progress requiring development, repetition, rewriting and multiple avenues. Plan for that.Therefore, while business plans are a necessary framework for a new start up, they will only be helpful if the revenue uncertainty issue can be largely resolved.START TRAINING FAR IN ADVANCE“A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.”George S. Patton – U.S. Military CommanderI started by saying how professional teams will prepare a game plan and how one of the key ingredients of that plan is practising the game strategies prior to the next game. Typical business plans have no suggestions for practise. Yet how can we expect to be able to start a successful advertising campaign with a sprint if we aren’t ready – or even warmed up?That’s why it’s vital to learn and practise whatever methods you intend to employ.As an example, for email marketing I recommend setting up the data bases ahead of time, even a year or two in advance. James Clear, the author of the mega-bestseller, Atomic Habits, spent years blogging and writing articles to develop an email list of 100,000 subscribers. When his book, which was essentially his business, was finally launched this massive audience of subscribers comprised eager customers waiting to buy. He made money the minute his “business” opened because he trained for the race.All marketing methods planned for start-up should be set up and practised ahead of time.PLAN TO COUNTERPUNCHI started my commercial loan brokerage business in the middle of a recession. Real estate prices were depressed which meant that there wasn’t a lot of equity to loan against. The recession also slowed down sales in general so fewer people needed commercial financing. I should have seen that punch coming. It was a slow-motion right hook coming right at my chin. But I missed it because my dislike for my job and my enthusiasm for going into business overtook a rational view of the marketplace. I ignored vital facts for emotional reasons.This market issue could be overcome in some cases, if it is recognized. For example, if your market area is in a recession but you have potential access to another market which is doing well, marketing should be extended to that market. As my knowledge grew, I increased my own business volumes by expanding outside my market area, ultimately to the other side of the country. Through market diversification I increased my prospect base and reduced the risk of individual regional economic declines.Or, if you are able to increase the volume of your advertising in your own market area, it might be enough to offset the reduced volume due to the economy. For example, if sales are down by 25%, you may be able to offset that decline by increasing your marketing by 25-30%. It may mean that, due to spending more and receiving the same volumes as before the recession you will have a lower gross, but it may still be possible to make a decent profit. And a lot of competitors stop marketing when times are bad, so that may be another benefit. After the Covid 19 crisis started I noticed a substantial decline in the flyers that arrived each day with the paper. It seems like a natural though counterproductive reaction to declining sales and doomy forecasts. Your business plan should have counterpunches built into it. At the very least have reserves of credit available.LEARN TO LIVE WITH THE UNEXPECTEDYou need a business plan and you must stick to it – until you shouldn’t. That’s the business plan paradox. Most people won’t change their business plan until disaster strikes. They get too attached to the story they’re telling themselves, like I did. They get locked into the hoped-for result and they stick blindly to the plan they spent so much time developing. But in business you have to expect the unexpected.As Tim Harford, economist and author of ADAPT: WHY SUCCESS ALWAYS STARTS WITH FAILURE stated, “No plan survives first contact with the enemy. What matters is how quickly the leader is able to adapt.”This means that when the results aren’t there you have to be ready to switch gears. You can even build your plan around a contingency. If marketing plan A isn’t working here’s what Plan b looks like. You can define the kind of results, or lack thereof, that will trigger Plan B. You can do that in the planning stages, while you’re training for the race, so that you’ve built in the attitude and sometimes even some general contingencies just in case you get punched in the mouth while you’re sprinting out of the starting blocks or settling into your pace for the marathon. The main way to mitigate risk is to develop multiple revenue generating marketing programs. This book will describe seven specific methods, which can branch off into a still larger number of options.

Two disclaimers:1 - Despite my following reasoning, I don’t even believe ‘democracy’ is a fundamental end-all and be-all of what it means to be an optimal social primate. And as an American, I am looking at the word as representing the current Multi-national, neo-liberal, zero-sum trends.2 - Despite having American citizenship, I have lived over half my life in Japan … 36 years and counting, and with a permanent visa, this is probably a terminal relationship.On my answer —Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time — Winston ChurchillQuite a catchy tune … but I have no idea whether democracy is the worst, or better, or just another experiment in how to manage social primates that have bred to populations of herding / swarming size.I just see democracy as one of many tools for sustainability of the species … and if lucky, perhaps even a higher quality of life.But as any other tool, democracy can be used and misused, depending on one’s inclination and perspective. For example, anyone who has been marginalized as a minority will likely be aware of the dangers of tyranny of the majority.I don’t have the time or scope for exploring the implications of John Rawls’ original position on morality here. It leads down one heck of a rabbit hole. But I would like to make a plug for Michael J. Sandel’s definition of ‘corruption’ as — any time ‘lower level’ values displace ‘higher level’ ideals.Certainly this is a provisional social construct. But I think most of us would agree that ‘everyone has their price’ is an easy to understand euphemism for how Michael Sandel is defining corruption.For my short answer … Yes.Just follow the money — https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jul/27/fake-news-inquiry-data-misuse-deomcracy-at-risk-mps-conclude?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+main+NEW+H+categories&utm_term=282232&subid=10308016&CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2It is not just democracy that is under threat.Family values and its institutions … adoption, weddings, birthdays, or funerals … are all under threat of being devoured by capitalism. It doesn’t take much triangulating to see the relationship between the misuse of corporate human capital in Japan Inc.’s ‘democracy’ to see the devastating effects on demographics … a falling population, but gutting the countryside for further concentration of power and opportunity in the Tokyo area.In pre-reformation Europe, the Catholic church similarly grew rich and therefore corrupt, partially due to selling special dispensations (those express train prayers to heaven) to the robber barons of that era.But here, in present day Japan, depending on the amount of donation offered to a priest performing burial rituals お布施, the deceased is given a new ‘spiritual’ name (kaimyou - Dharma name) that is ranked and correlated with the amount of money donated.I’d call that culturally sanctioned blackmail, but I guess we Americans do the same with weddings and funerals … the more money one has, the more lavish the ceremony is expected to be. I guess it comes with the package of what it means to be a social primate.But how much is ‘enough’? Where does one draw the line if it comes at the expense of others?This jives well with Sandel’s home run definition of corruption.Capitalism is devouring science.Common sense determines that neither scientific fact nor theory have been subject to the values of democracy, though lord knows it is not through lack of trying.I will leave it to the likes of Neil DeGrasse Tyson to point out the incompatibly of democracy with science in many of his excellent documentaries …or an even more scientifically capable contemporary, Steven Pinker …… but the good professors (institutionally sanctioned) are NOT making similar documentaries about how capitalism is devouring science.‘Publish or Perish’ — is NOT a scientific heuristics.It is an economic model, and an ultimately self-destructive one at that.In fact, they, among others (yeah, you too Michio) are making a tidy little sum riding off those gigs. It’s just too bad that the likes of Karl Popper or Thomas Kuhn are not so photogenic. Karl had much to say about what happens when science becomes subservient to capitalistic agendas in the Nazi form of Nationalism.And I think there is quite a bit much more than being ‘politically correct’ at stake when the whole scientific domain is being questioned as gender influenced … How Masculine and Feminine Traits Influence Science.For some examples of how capitalism is devouring of science, I modestly suggest reading Naomi Klein regarding Project MKUltra. Or Noam Chomsky on the M.I.T. - D.A.R.P.A. connection. Or for that matter Google’s true origin partly lies in CIA and NSA research grants for mass surveillance, Big Oil, Big Pharma, Big Agra.As I am making this edit, today’s news alone (Thursday, July 24, 2018 spells it out … Monsanto-on-trial … again.And to bring it closer to home (in Japan) … a copy of July 27-28th news … https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/07/27/national/crime-legal/japanese-prosecutors-raid-jaxa-facilities-connection-second-education-ministry-bribes-case/#.W1xSNygVSHoAnd to make sure the article is not ‘lost’ … another source, JapanToday.Prosecutors raid space agency over bureaucrat's bribery caseJuly 28 — 06:55 am JST TOKYOProsecutors on Friday raided locations linked to the space agency after they arrested a senior education ministry official earlier on a bribery charge in the second graft scandal to hit the ministry in a month.Kazuaki Kawabata, 57-year-old former director general for international affairs at the education ministry, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of receiving bribes in the form of being wined and dined by a consulting firm executive in return for providing a favor to his firm.Prosecutors suspect former consulting firm executive Koji Taniguchi, 47, already arrested and indicted for alleged complicity in another bribery scandal involving a different senior education ministry official, provided 1.4 million yen ($12,600) worth of meals and drinks to Kawabata between 2015 and 2017.Kawabata was on loan at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency at the time and was in a position to evaluate the agency's business contracts.Kawabata allegedly helped Taniguchi invite astronaut Satoshi Furukawa to an event at Tokyo Medical University in November 2016 among other favors he offered him, according to sources close to the matter.Furukawa was allegedly asked by the former chairman of the university's board of regents, Masahiko Usui, about whether the astronaut could take part in the event, they said.Taniguchi bribed Kawabata by wining and dining him more than 10 times, the sources said, adding that Kawabata and Taniguchi have denied the allegations.Other sources said the education ministry bureaucrat is also suspected of receiving taxi vouchers from the consulting firm executive.Earlier in the month, another education ministry bureaucrat, Futoshi Sano, 59, and the former official of Tokyo Medical University were indicted for bribery.Sano, former director general of the ministry's science and technology bureau, allegedly helped the university get selected for the ministry's funding program in return for securing the enrollment of his son at the school.Taniguchi is suspected of bringing Sano and Usui together.The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology was preparing to set up a third-party committee to investigate the suspected bribery involving Sano, but the minister, Yoshimasa Hayashi, said the plan will be postponed in the wake of Kawabata's arrest.© KYODONo mistake, ‘greed-is-good’ capitalism is devouring science, not driving it.Education, since the dawn of the industrial revolution, has been in danger of being devoured.For one semester, even while I was an Associate Professor at Jissen Women’s College, I took a leave of absence and attended open-classes as a student at a rival institution, Showa Women’s College. Among the courses I took, one was taught by a professor and employee of the central Ministry of Education (For about 7 years, I also used to be one of 2 or 3 native English speaking informants as textbook proofreaders and cultural advisors for the Ministry 平成17年4月文部科学省教科用図書検定調査審議会専門委員（平成23年3月迄). His course was about the history of Public Education in Japan.The Japanese public education system is based on England’s Victorian era education, which in turn was based on the structure and heuristics of two other institutions at that time … the penal system and the military. A liberal arts education was largely reserved for the elite ruling class.That’s a pretty grim hint as to the traditional ways in which large populations are ‘managed’ through capitalist values.Tied up with education, racial equality is in danger of being devoured … DeVos Doesn’t Believe that Promoting Racial Diversity in Schools Is a Worthwhile Cause.That military thing of ‘corruption’ through replacing one value with a lower value can be found in the outsourcing of the U.S. government’s accountability in warfare. Blackwater Protection was and still is, a convenient excuse for the U.S. government’s plausible deniability. But I guess the ancient Roman army did the same thing with ‘barbarian’ mercenaries long before capitalism was a gleam in Adam Smith’s eye.And as hinted earlier, the penal system — in private, for-profit hands?For the CEOs … the more inmates, the merrier. And throw away the keys. There is no financial incentive for rehabilitation.As for U.S. Public Health policy? Outside of the U.S., the laughing stock of the ‘developed’ world. Inside, a crying shame.That alone is enough to make me question the distinction between ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ as an arrogant conceit. A more accurate distinction between countries might better be found along a sliding scale of institutionally sanctioned, legalized corruption.Personal health care costs account for the single greatest cause of family bankruptcy in the U.S. On the the other hand, a cozy little group of insurance company executives and Big-Pharma CEOs can afford another private jet or island retreat.For the personally ambitious, there is big money to be made off of sickness, infirmity, and death.And those ‘closed-door’ international trade talks are closed for good reason.For example, one of the conditions of the TPP was that medical products banned in the U.S. could be used in countries with less economic leverage, and any claims from citizens of those countries regarding health or environmental degradation will not be subject to that country’s laws or judicial system. The multi-national corporation will have the right to regulate, judge, and penalize themselves … as they wish, or not, and citizens of those economically marginalized countries, democratic or not, will have no say in the matter.Even elected politicians are not privy to all of the information in those closed-door trade talks.Anyone here old enough to remember Perestroika or Glasnost?Evidently, ‘what’s good for the goose is good for the gander’ does not apply to Capitalist management.It just goes on and on.One. Horror. Show. After. Another.I would say the loss of ‘democracy’ to the corruption of money should be among the least of our worries.Yanis is brilliant, full stop.Spot-on analysis.And compared to reading Piketty’s massive tome, a lot easier to listen to.Besides, I think his barber is doing a great job.I am just weighing in because of his observations from about 1:10 of the YouTube video above — when he explains how the Chinese economic system may be more humane than the U.S. counterparts. The local governments may allow somewhat more freedom than the national government, and individuals may be arguably just as free to follow, ignore, or game the system as their American counterparts.This is the same in Japan, For now.But as we are seeing in the U.S. now, the authoritarian dynamics could change overnight, and I assume the same could be said for China.Japanese scientists are worried about the same thing — Japanese scientists call for boycott of military research. But that is already old news. Japan is well under way in following the U.S.’s model of tax funded research at M.I.T. being funneled into Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.I think it was only three or four years ago, that Tokyo University was bringing out damage control PR in denying they were involved in military related research. Things have changed in a very short time. … Scientists and defense research | The Japan Times——————————————In any country, the socially progressive left will always be less united than the right. It's like trying to herd cats ... or order a jazz musician to follow a note for note transcription of a military marching band score.IMHO, the above observation points to something fundamentally contradictory about human nature.As a social primate, we do pretty well in small communities with empathy-driven morality. Of course even small groups can be led by bullies, and many a spouse has suffered at the hand of their 'beloved'.But when we become herding primates, probably anything larger than Dunbar’s Number, and guided by a rule-driven morality (or algorithm), it is just a matter of time before we become self-destructive swarming primates ... that 'Tower of Babel' thingy.I guess part of it is because large populations necessarily become hierarchically institutionalized, and therefore dependent on a rule-driven (legal/logical based - not empathy based) morality.But when empathy is no longer the basis for morality, the 'Dark Triad' personality types are most able to take advantage of the inevitable gap between empathy and rules ... the narcissists, machiavellian opportunists, and psychopaths among us.You know … your boss.(kudos to Alan Louis)Altruists become relegated to fools ... Diogenes carrying a lantern in the daylight, looking for an honest man.Diogenes … my hero, the template for ‘pro-social trolling’ … and the capitalist in me is wondering if I can get a copyright on that phrasing ;-)Compared to more egalitarian communities which are small enough for us to acknowledge and recognize each other as unique individuals, large populations and accompanying institutions simply provide too many niche opportunities for those dark-triad types to rise to the top.It might be useful to think of the ratio of dark-triads to altruists in a hierarchy as similar to the increase of surface area to volume of any structure as it increases in size.This surface area to volume ration, as biologists understand, is a salient variable which limits the size of living things.Surface Area to Volume Ratio - OBEN Science 7EAnd to extend the metaphor, as the surface area of hierarchies expand in proportion to the volume of its limited natural resources (can’t outsource costs and losses forever ya know), those dark-triad vampires, also proportionally increase to the point that those behavior traits become the dominant culture of the institution.Hmmm … the capitalist in me wondering if I should coin the above observation in the domain of social sciences as ‘Martin’s Law’. Or in the spirit of open source … ‘more like guidelines’.No matter what 'fool-proof' system is in place, those dark-triad types will suck the human capital dry, siphoning all resources into their own gated communities, until inevitably, 'too big to fail', fails, like a dinosaur collapsing under its own weight.'Housing loan crisis', 'Lehman Shock', the Great Wall Street crash of the ‘20’s ... a stinkweed by any other name would smell as rank. Alas, were it just restricted to smell.2012, what we ‘learned’ — Fukushima reactor meltdown was a man-made disaster, says official report.As a former Comparative Culture teacher, I should say a bit about how Japan Inc. parses ‘human error’ and ‘man-made’ disasters. Imagine a wide range of meanings ranging from an ‘honest mistake’ at one extreme, and getting caught doing what hierarchical social primates are primed to do … ‘gaming the system for personal advantage’ at the other extreme.Those two terms conveniently cover the gamut.Well hey, it’s the Fourth of July, 2018, and following good pedagogic practice, let’s see if, indeed we ‘learned’ anything.Just 3 stories today is enough to say it all …1 — Nuclear watchdog OKs restart of aging Ibaraki nuclear plant hit by tsunamiPhoto: REUTERS file(Read it while it’s ‘hot’ folks, to aid our short collective memories, Japan Today will typically delete the article from its archives in a week or so, so I have it copy-pasted for any future readers interested, assuming there is a future.)Yours truly, as an English teacher at the Tokai Mura nuclear power plant - before.And after?Can’t really say. Like the weather and earthquakes, that will be up to the Watchdog Committee’s official stamp of approval.2 — Japan oks ambitious nuke energy target plutonium reuse plan — Japan on Tuesday approved an energy plan that sets ambitious targets for nuclear energy use and sustains a struggling program for spent-fuel recycling despite setbacks after the 2011 Fukushima disaster.(But praise the lord we have government officials and Watchdog Committees!)3 — Senior education ministry official arrested over bribery — Tokyo prosecutors on Wednesday arrested a high-ranking Japan education ministry official on a bribery charge, suspecting he granted a research subsidy to a medical school in exchange for admitting his child as a student.Oops.Might as well add another few for good measure …(edit July 7, point 4, because of the relevance to points 1 and 2)4 — 5.9-magnitude quake felt in Tokyo, no tsunami warning. I felt that one. ALL of Tokyo felt it … and for close to 30 seconds.Mother nature couldn’t give a f.f. for the government’s official approval of where and when the next temblor will be permitted. But money-driven authoritarianism and mother nature have never been on good speaking terms, much less happily wedded.5 — Fukuoka's 'guest teachers' of English outstay their welcome. — After 36 year years of studying and teaching here, I found out the hard way that Japanese work contracts are not worth the paper they are written on. And this is not restricted to lay-teachers … Cautionary tale: Bern on how no protections against harassment in Japan’s universities targets NJ regardless of Japan savviness and skill levelHaving worked in American and Japanese Universities, high schools, and volunteered at kindergartens, I know a little bit about education. Now, having resigned in protest from a tenured Associate Professor position (qualifications here … Steven Martin, I am forced to pick up odd jobs at universities, but not as a professor — though still desperately trying to hang on to my identity as an educator, following its best, subversive to authority, liberal arts tradition. Now working for a subcontractor, likely similar to those mentioned above in the Fukuoka article.I have a contract here before me, that I will not sign. It makes no mention of accountability to the students who educators should be serving.Educational content and pedagogy have been boiled down to little more than economic constraints and opportunities. Just like any other business, everything is based on the bottom-line.Now with falling demographics and numbers of Japanese students to draw on, the overabundance of ‘educational institutes’ are forced to accept anyone who can breathe, and now an increasing number of the young and restless from China and Southeast Asia. This makes for some interesting cross-cultural possibilities.But it is an extra pedagogical burden on those who speak only Japanese and English, and these outsourcing companies are choosing teachers whose main qualification is ‘they look foreign, speak English, and are desperate enough for money to just sign on the dotted line and follow orders’.I try to make do.Here is a sketch done in my English class last week, by a speaker who maybe can say ‘Hello, how are you today?’ — yet she could visualize and understand Plato’s Allegory of the Cave better than most American counterparts. Bright girl.The ‘most recent comment’ under the following YouTube link describes how I got their attention last week, kept it, built on it .., and enjoyed a blast from the past.As bad as my situation is, still can’t pay the rent, it could be worse.6 — Japan’s open to foreign workers. Just don’t call them immigrants … The latest LDP plan is to open the door to 500,000 low-skilled, kkk workers (no not Jeff Sessions and company), the 3k jobs are kienai, kitsui, and kikken (dirty, hard, and dangerous) — jobs that anyone tries to avoid, but dirt-poor immigrants see as opportunity. There are just two teensy-weensy conditions to the special 5 year visas (10 years if language skills are up to snuff).• There is no legal path beyond the expiration date of that visa allowing for immigration or naturalization. When that visa expires, the worker has no choice. They MUST return to their native country.• If the 5 year or 10 year worker has a spouse or kids, even those immediate family members will not be allowed into Japan. All human needs will be taken care of by the Japanese company they work for.‘Special work visas’? I would call that a legal euphemism for ‘human trafficking’.It appears that Japan Inc. is hell bent on using hidden labor to build the infrastructure catering to the wealthy visitors who come to ‘do’ Japan. Not so different from Qatar, the UAE, and other oil rich sultanates.(edit) Today’s morning headline in Japan Today … https://japantoday.com/category/national/japan-firms-used-foreign-trainees-at-fukushima-cleanup-reportsI have saved the above to hard disc because as per policy, that website typically deletes its articles a week or two after posting it. No wonder we fail to learn from history … we are not allowed to even make a collective memory. So for anyone who wants the details of the article above (which are few — even the guilty companies were not named), I have saved the article to hard disc. And again, that title …4 firms made foreign trainees do Fukushima decontamination workYokoso (welcome to) Japan … tourists and ‘trainees’ alike.Japan’s 4th of July headlines is one for the record books … to hell in a hand basket. A big one.————————————So class, what have we learned since that 2012 official government report?Hmm. Something about a dead parrot?More like a whole menagerie — George Orwell's 'Animal Farm' in a nutshell.Credit: Carl Glover via FlickrJust a guess, but those 'dark triad' types probably make up between 1 and 5 percent of any population.But even among the remaining, more typical, members of ours species, Hannah Arendt .... and then later the behavioral psychologists Solomon Asch (conformity experiment), Stanley Milgram (experiment in obedience), and Philip Zimbardo (the malleability of identity in the Stanford Prison experiment) pointed out how easily even the average Joe Blow's behavior can be manipulated with relatively light touches of authoritarianism.Noam Chomsky in 'Manufacturing Consent', and later later Naomi Klein in 'The Shock Doctrine', shows us some blueprints. Antony Loewenstein is showing how this is playing out down under with Disaster Capitalism: Making a Killing Out of Catastrophe.And William Blum shows us some of the gut-ugly details in Killing Hope.A couple of yeas ago, Stephen Hawking wrote an editorial for The Guardian saying This is the most dangerous time for our planet ... implying we will either make it to Mars and exploit its resources, or destroy ourselves in a final malthusian meltdown over the remaining resources on earth.An increasing number of STEM specialists believe we may have already passed a species-ending tipping point.Chomsky, in his 2010 Chapel Hill speech, 'Human intelligence and the environment’ began that speech with a couple of paragraphs referring to the debate between Carl Sagan and Ernst Mayr regarding the probability of intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos. Predictably, and sensibly, Sagan argued for the probability, on statistical chance alone.But Mayr gave a surprisingly sensible counter-argument from an evolutionary biologist's point of view. The biological record indicates an average of about 100,000 years for the shelf life of an apex (dominant) species ... and we are at about that point.Mayr said that while there is probably life out there, it is not likely to have a human-like intelligence. He went on to further imply that human intelligence is not the apex of evolution — it is merely one of many tools for the survival of a social primate.But worse, he suspects human intelligence is more likely a fatal mutation. An evolutionary spandrel at best.The more I observe of our swarming, self-destructive nature, the more I tend to agree with Mayr.

Emergency Response PlanThe actions taken in the initial minutes of an emergency are critical. A prompt warning to employees to evacuate, shelter or lockdown can save lives. A call for help to public emergency services that provides full and accurate information will help the dispatcher send the right responders and equipment. An employee trained to administer first aid or perform CPR can be lifesaving. Action by employees with knowledge of building and process systems can help control a leak and minimize damage to the facility and the environment.The first step when developing an emergency response plan is to conduct a risk assessment to identify potential emergency scenarios. An understanding of what can happen will enable you to determine resource requirements and to develop plans and procedures to prepare your business. The emergency plan should be consistent with your performance objectives.At the very least, every facility should develop and implement an emergency plan for protecting employees, visitors, contractors and anyone else in the facility. This part of the emergency plan is called “protective actions for life safety” and includes building evacuation (“fire drills”), sheltering from severe weather such as tornadoes, “shelter-in-place” from an exterior airborne hazard such as a chemical release and lockdown. Lockdown is protective action when faced with an act of violence.When an emergency occurs, the first priority is always life safety. The second priority is the stabilization of the incident. There are many actions that can be taken to stabilize an incident and minimize potential damage. First aid and CPR by trained employees can save lives. Use of fire extinguishers by trained employees can extinguish a small fire. Containment of a small chemical spill and supervision of building utilities and systems can minimize damage to a building and help prevent environmental damage.Some severe weather events can be forecast hours before they arrive, providing valuable time to protect a facility. A plan should be established and resources should be on hand, or quickly, available to prepare a facility. The plan should also include a process for damage assessment, salvage, protection of undamaged property and cleanup following an incident. These actions to minimize further damage and business disruption are examples of property conservation.Guidance for the development of an emergency response plan can be found in this step.Protective Actions for Life SafetyWhen there is a hazard within a building such as a fire or chemical spill, occupants within the building should be evacuated or relocated to safety. Other incidents such as a bomb threat or receipt of a suspicious package may also require evacuation. If a tornado warning is broadcast, everyone should be moved to the strongest part of the building and away from exterior glass. If a transportation accident on a nearby highway results in the release of a chemical cloud, the fire department may warn to “shelter-in-place.” To protect employees from an act of violence, “lockdown” should be broadcast and everyone should hide or barricade themselves from the perpetrator.Protective actions for life safety include:EvacuationShelteringShelter-In-PlaceLockdownYour emergency plan should include these protective actions. If you are a tenant in multi-tenanted building, coordinate planning with the building manager.EvacuationPrompt evacuation of employees requires a warning system that can be heard throughout the building. Test your fire alarm system to determine if it can be heard by all employees. If there is no fire alarm system, use a public address system, air horns or other means to warn everyone to evacuate. Sound the evacuation signal during planned drills so employees are familiar with the sound.Make sure that there are sufficient exits available at all times.Check to see that there are at least two exits from hazardous areas on every floor of every building. Building or fire codes may require more exits for larger buildings.Walk around the building and verify that exits are marked with exit signs and there is sufficient lighting so people can safely travel to an exit. If you find anything that blocks an exit, have it removed.Enter every stairwell, walk down the stairs, and open the exit door to the outside. Continue walking until you reach a safe place away from the building. Consider using this safe area as an assembly area for evacuees.Appoint an evacuation team leader and assign employees to direct evacuation of the building. Assign at least one person to each floor to act as a “floor warden” to direct employees to the nearest safe exit. Assign a backup in case the floor warden is not available or if the size of the floor is very large. Ask employees if they would need any special assistance evacuating or moving to shelter. Assign a “buddy” or aide to assist persons with disabilities during an emergency. Contact the fire department to develop a plan to evacuate persons with disabilities.Have a list of employees and maintain a visitor log at the front desk, reception area or main office area. Assign someone to take the lists to the assembly area when the building is evacuated. Use the lists to account for everyone and inform the fire department whether everyone has been accounted for. When employees are evacuated from a building, OSHA regulations require an accounting to ensure that everyone has gotten out safely. A fire, chemical spill or other hazard may block an exit, so make sure the evacuation team can direct employees to an alternate safe exit.ShelteringIf a tornado warning is broadcast, a distinct warning signal should be sounded and everyone should move to shelter in the strongest part of the building. Shelters may include basements or interior rooms with reinforced masonry construction. Evaluate potential shelters and conduct a drill to see whether shelter space can hold all employees. Since there may be little time to shelter when a tornado is approaching, early warning is important. If there is a severe thunderstorm, monitor news sources in case a tornado warning is broadcast. Consider purchasing an Emergency Alert System radio - available at many electronic stores. Tune in to weather warnings broadcast by local radio and television stations. Subscribe to free text and email warnings, which are available from multiple news and weather resources on the Internet.Shelter-In-PlaceA tanker truck crashes on a nearby highway releasing a chemical cloud. A large column of black smoke billows into the air from a fire in a nearby manufacturing plant. If, as part of this event, an explosion, or act of terrorism has occurred, public emergency officials may order people in the vicinity to “shelter-in-place.” You should develop a shelter-in-place plan. The plan should include a means to warn everyone to move away from windows and move to the core of the building. Warn anyone working outside to enter the building immediately. Move everyone to the second and higher floors in a multistory building. Avoid occupying the basement. Close exterior doors and windows and shut down the building’s air handling system. Have everyone remain sheltered until public officials broadcast that it is safe to evacuate the building.LockdownAn act of violence in the workplace could occur without warning. If loud “pops” are heard and gunfire is suspected, every employee should know to hide and remain silent. They should seek refuge in a room, close and lock the door, and barricade the door if it can be done quickly. They should be trained to hide under a desk, in the corner of a room and away from the door or windows. Multiple people should be trained to broadcast a lockdown warning from a safe location.Resources for Protective Actions for Life SafetyIn addition to the following resources available on the Internet, seek guidance from your local fire department, police department, and emergency management agency.Exit Routes and Emergency Planning – U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) 29 CFR 1910 Subpart ENFPA 101: Life Safety Code® – National Fire Protection AssociationEmployee Alarm Systems – OSHA 29 CFR 1910.165Evacuation Planning Matrix – OSHAEvacuation Plans and Procedures eTool - OSHADesign Guidance for Shelters and Safe Rooms ­– Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA 453)Incident StabilizationStabilizing an emergency may involve many different actions including: firefighting, administering medical treatment, rescue, containing a spill of hazardous chemicals or handling a threat or act of violence. When you dial 9-1-1 you expect professionals to respond to your facility. Depending upon the response time and capabilities of public emergency services and the hazards and resources within your facility, you may choose to do more to prepare for these incidents. Regulations may require you to take action before emergency services arrive.If you choose to do nothing more than call for help and evacuate, you should still prepare an emergency plan that includes prompt notification of emergency services, protective actions for life safety and accounting of all employees.Developing the Emergency PlanDeveloping an emergency plan begins with an understanding of what can happen. Review your risk assessment. Consider the performance objectives that you established for your program and decide how much you want to invest in planning beyond what is required by regulations.Assess what resources are available for incident stabilization. Consider internal resources and external resources including public emergency services and contractors. Public emergency services include fire departments that may also provide rescue, hazardous materials and emergency medical services. If not provided by your local fire department, these services may be provided by another department, agency or even a private contractor. Reach out to local law enforcement to coordinate planning for security related threats.Document available resources. Determine whether external resources have the information they would need to handle an emergency. If not, determine what information is required and be sure to document that information in your plan.Prepare emergency procedures for foreseeable hazards and threats. Review the list of hazards presented at the bottom of the page. Develop hazard and threat specific procedures using guidance from the resource links at the bottom of this page.Warning, Notifications, and CommunicationsPlans should define the most appropriate protective action for each hazard to ensure the safety of employees and others within the building. Determine how you will warn building occupants to take protective action. Develop protocols and procedures to alert first responders including public emergency services, trained employees and management. Identify how you will communicate with management and employees during and following an emergency.Roles and Responsibilities for Building Owners and Facility ManagersAssign personnel the responsibility of controlling access to the emergency scene and for keeping people away from unsafe areas. Others should be familiar with the locations and functions of controls for building utility, life safety and protection systems. These systems include ventilation, electrical, water and sanitary systems; emergency power supplies; detection, alarm, communication and warning systems; fire suppression systems; pollution control and containment systems; and security and surveillance systems. Personnel should be assigned to operate or supervise these systems as directed by public emergency services if they are on-site.Site and Facility Plans and InformationPublic emergency services have limited knowledge about your facility and its hazards. Therefore, it is important to document information about your facility. That information is vital to ensure emergency responders can safely stabilize an incident that may occur. Documentation of building systems may also prove valuable when a utility system fails—such as when a water pipe breaks and no one knows how to shut off the water.Compile a site-plan and plans for each floor of each building. Plans should show the layout of access roads, parking areas, buildings on the property, building entrances, the locations of emergency equipment and the locations of controls for building utility and protection systems. Instructions for operating all systems and equipment should be accessible to emergency responders.Provide a copy of the plan to the public emergency services that would respond to your facility and others with responsibility for building management and security. Store the plan with other emergency planning information such as chemical Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), which are required by Hazard Communication or “right to know” regulations.Training and ExercisesTrain personnel so they are familiar with detection, alarm, communications, warning and protection systems. Review plans with staff to ensure they are familiar with their role and can carry out assigned responsibilities. Conduct evacuation, sheltering, sheltering-in-place and lockdown drills so employees will recognize the sound used to warn them and they will know what to do. Facilitate exercises to practice the plan, familiarize personnel with the plan and identify any gaps or deficiencies in the plan.10 Steps for Developing the Emergency Response PlanReview performance objectives for the program.Review hazard or threat scenarios identified during the risk assessment.Assess the availability and capabilities of resources for incident stabilization including people, systems and equipment available within your business and from external sources.Talk with public emergency services (e.g., fire, police and emergency medical services) to determine their response time to your facility, knowledge of your facility and its hazards and their capabilities to stabilize an emergency at your facility.Determine if there are any regulations pertaining to emergency planning at your facility; address applicable regulations in the plan.Develop protective actions for life safety (evacuation, shelter, shelter-in-place, lockdown).Develop hazard and threat-specific emergency procedures using the Emergency Response Plan Template for Businesses.Coordinate emergency planning with public emergency services to stabilize incidents involving the hazards at your facility.Train personnel so they can fulfill their roles and responsibilities.Facilitate exercises to practice your plan.Links to Emergency Planning InformationPre-Incident Planning (Site and Building Information for First Responders)Fire Service Features of Buildings and Fire Protection Systems - U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) Publication 3256-07NStandard on Pre-Incident Planning - National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1620Protective Actions for Life SafetyEvacuation Planning Matrix – OSHAEvacuation Plans and Procedures eTool - OSHADesign Guidance for Shelters and Safe RoomsMedicalCPR and ECC Guidelines - American Heart AssociationAutomated External Defibrillators (AEDs) – OSHABloodborne pathogens – OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1030Model Plans and Programs for the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens and Hazard Communications Standards – OSHA Publication 3186FirefightingFire Protection – OSHA 29 CFR 1910 Subpart LFire Brigades - OSHA 29 CFR 1910.156Standard on Industrial Fire Brigades - NFPA 600Hazardous materialsHazardous Materials Emergency Planning Guide (NRT-1) - U.S. National Response TeamNatural hazardsNatural Disasters and Weather Emergencies - U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyNational Hurricane Center, Publications, Tropical Cyclone Advisory Mailing Lists, Hurricane Preparedness, The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale (Experimental) - National Weather Service (NWS)Thunderstorms, Tornadoes, Lightning, Nature's Most Violent Storms: A Preparedness Guide, Including Tornado Safety Information for Schools - NOAA, National Weather ServiceTornado Protection: Selecting Refuge Area in Buildings - FEMA 431RescuePermit-Required Confined Spaces - OSHA 29 CFR 1910.146Standard for Rescue Technician Professional Qualifications - NFPA 1006Standard on Operations and Training for Technical Search and Rescue Incidents - NFPA 1670Workplace ViolenceActive Shooter: How to Respond -U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)Dealing with Workplace Violence: A Guide for Agency Planners - United States Office of Personnel ManagementWorkplace Violence—Issues in Response - Federal Bureau of InvestigationTerrorism, Bomb Threats, and Suspicious PackagesEnsuring Building Security – DHSSafe Rooms and Shelters - Protecting People Against Terrorist Attacks - FEMA 453Guidance for Protecting Building Environments from Airborne Chemical, Biological, or Radiological Attacks - National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Publication No. 2002-139, 2002Hazards to Consider When Developing the Emergency PlanNatural hazardsGeological hazardsEarthquakeTsunamiVolcanoLandslide, mudslide, subsidenceMeteorological HazardsFlood, flash flood, tidal surgeWater control structure/dam/levee failureDroughtSnow, ice, hail, sleet, arctic freezeWindstorm, tropical cyclone, hurricane, tornado, dust stormExtreme temperatures (heat, cold)Lightning strikes (wildland fire following)Biological hazardsFoodborne illnessesPandemic/Infectious/communicable disease (Avian flu, H1N1, etc.)Human-caused eventsAccidentalHazardous material spill or releaseNuclear power plant incident (if located in proximity to a nuclear power plant)Explosion/FireTransportation accidentBuilding/structure collapseEntrapment and or rescue (machinery, confined space, high angle, water)Transportation Incidents (motor vehicle, railroad, watercraft, aircraft, pipeline)IntentionalRobberyLost person, child abduction, kidnap, extortion, hostage incident, workplace violenceDemonstrations, civil disturbanceBomb threat, suspicious packageTerrorismTechnology caused eventsUtility interruption or failure (telecommunications, electrical power, water, gas, steam, HVAC, pollution control system, sewerage system, other critical infrastructure)Cyber security (data corruption/theft, loss of electronic data interchange or ecommerce, loss of domain name server, spyware/malware, vulnerability exploitation/botnets/hacking, denial of service)Property ConservationTaking action before a forecast event, such as a severe storm, can prevent damage. Prompt damage assessment and cleanup activities following the storm can minimize further damage and business disruption. These actions are considered “property conservation”—an important part of the emergency response plan. Much of the following guidance is directed to building owners and facility managers. However, tenants should also develop a plan in coordination with building owners and managers as well as public authorities.Preparing a Facility for a Forecast EventBody copy: Actions to prepare a facility for a forecast event depend upon the potential impacts from the hazards associated with the event. Conduct a risk assessment to identify severe weather hazards including winter storms, arctic freeze, tropical storm, hurricane, flooding, storm surge, severe thunderstorm, tornado and high winds. Also consider non-traditional hazards, such as a planned event involving a large crowd.Property conservation actions should focus on protection of the building and valuable machinery, equipment and materials inside. Potential damage may be prevented or mitigated by inspecting the following building features, systems and equipment:Windows and doorsRoof flashing, covering and drainageExterior signsMechanical equipment, antennas and satellite dishes on rooftopsOutside storage, tanks and equipmentAir intakesHigh value machinerySensitive electronic equipment including information technology and process controllersThe review of building components may also identify opportunities for longer-term mitigation strategies.Property conservation activities for specific forecast events include the following:Winter storm - Keep building entrances and emergency exits clear; ensure there is adequate fuel for heating and emergency power supplies; monitor building heat, doors and windows to prevent localized freezing; monitor snow loading and clear roof drains.Tropical storms and hurricanes - Stockpile and pre-cut plywood to board up windows and doors (or install hurricane shutters); ensure there is sufficient labor, tools and fasteners available; inspect roof coverings and flashing; clear roof and storm drains; check sump and portable pumps; backup electronic data and vital records off-site; relocate valuable inventory to a protected location away from the path of the storm.Flooding - Identify the potential for flooding and plan to relocate goods, materials and equipment to a higher floor or higher ground. Clear storm drains and check sump and portable pumps. Raise stock and machinery off the floor. Prepare a plan to use sandbags to prevent water entry from doors and secure floor drains.Salvage and Actions to Prevent Further Damage Following an IncidentSeparating undamaged goods from water-soaked goods is an example of salvage. Covering holes in a roof or cleaning up water and ventilating a building are also part of property conservation. The property conservation plan should identify the resources needed to salvage undamaged good and materials; make temporary repairs to a building; clean up water, smoke and humidity; and prepare critical equipment for restart.Resources for property conservation include the following:water vacuums and tools to remove waterfans to remove smoke and humiditytarpaulins or plywood to cover damaged roofs or broken windowsplastic sheeting to cover sensitive equipmentCompile an inventory of available equipment, tools and supplies and include it with the emergency response plan. Identify precautions for equipment exposed to water or high humidity and procedures for restarting machinery and equipment.Identify contractors that may be called to assist with clean up and property conservation efforts. Keep in mind that competition for contractors, labor, materials and supplies prior to a forecast storm or following a regional disaster may be intense. Plan ahead and secure contractors and other resources in advance.Resources for Property ConservationProtect Your Property from High Winds - Federal Emergency Management AgencyNatural Disasters - U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyEmergency Drying Procedures for Water Damaged Collections - Library of CongressLast Updated: 09/11/2020Disasters and EmergenciesMake a PlanGet InvolvedReady BusinessBusinessLeaders in Business Community ResilienceProgram AdministrationPlanningImplementationEmergency Response PlanResource ManagementCrisis Communications PlanBusiness Continuity PlanBusiness Continuity Planning SuiteIT Disaster Recovery PlanEmployee Assistance & SupportIncident ManagementTrainingTesting & ExercisesTestingExercisesProgram ImprovementProgram ReviewsCorrective ActionBusiness TestimonialsReady Kids