Two research questions were formulated for and examined through the conduct of this study. These questions were as follows:
1. Do pre intervention differences in attitudes toward disaster recovery planning for electronic information systems exist among administrators and managers according to (a) organizational hierarchical level, (b) nationality, (c) environment of higher education, or (d) perceived operational significance of low probability/high loss potential events?
2. Can the attitudes of administrators and managers toward disaster recovery planning be changed in a positive direction through intervention involving: (a) education in risk analysis, or (b) viewing a video presentation of the effects of a variety of actions and occurrences on the security and integrity of electronic information systems?
It was concluded that pre intervention differences in attitudes toward disaster recovery planning for electronic information systems among Saudi administrators and managers will likely be present in Saudi organizations on the basis of organizational hierarchical level, nationality, environment of higher education, and perceived operational significance of low probability/high loss potential events.
It was also concluded that effective interventions similar to the interventions employed in this study can lead to positive changes in the attitudes of administrators and managers in Saudi organizations toward disaster recovery planning, and that such changes will likely be long lasting.
The computer has revolutionized the way most organizations conduct their activities. Most private sector organizations could not hope to compete effectively in the 1990s if they attempted to operate without the aid of computer technology. Similarly, public sector organizations, in the absence of electronic data management, would face a hopeless situation in attempts to serve their clienteles.
Along with increased productivity, however...