The three R`s of resilience: redundancy, requisite variety and resources

This paper offers a way of operationalizing resilience according to the sub-systems that comprise a business (technical, social and economic), the kinds of perturbations that might impact a business (local, national and global) and the criteria that determine resilient capacity (redundancy, requisite variety and resources). When a business system has incorporated redundancy, developed requisite variety and adequately monitors its resources, we might then conclude that such a business is a resilient business. The model offered here is theoretical, and is yet to undergo empirical scrutiny. Empirical modeling will enable us to ascertain the strength of a business's internal characteristics against different levels/kinds of external perturbation. Sensitivity analysis of this kind will lead to more in-depth understanding of the dynamics that generate resilient businesses in a complex world.