What are the main threats facing a modern organisation?
World Economic Forum – global risks
Each year, the World Economic Forum (WEF) presents the results of their Global Risks Perception Survey. It collates the views of nearly 1,000 decision-makers from the public sector, private sector, academia and civil society.The report categorises risk as follows:- Economic vulnerabilities
- Geopolitical tensions
- Societal and political strains
- Environmental fragilities
- Technological instabilities
Latin America | Sub-Saharan Africa | South Asia |
---|---|---|
Failure of national governance | Unemployment and underemployment | Failure of national governance |
Profound social instability | Failure of national governance | Unmanageable inflation |
Unemployment and underemployment | Energy price shock | Unemployment and underemployment |
Fiscal crises | Failure of critical infrastructure | Failure of regional and global governance |
State collapse or crisis | Fiscal crises | Cyber-attacks |
‘The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2019 is a reminder to anyone charged with managing risk to always maintain a holistic view of their organisation… If business leaders don’t look at risk holistically, they won’t be prepared to respond to the connected risks of extreme weather, climate change, infrastructure failure, cyber-attacks and many others that can directly threaten their very survival.’(Franklin 2019)
UK National Risk Register
Problems
‘People and organisations will tend to ignore problems that are too complex to fit easily into current frameworks of accountability and behaviour.’(Craig 2018)
‘Unable to support them in delivering actionable measures to develop risk resilience due to the absence of practical applications, case study approaches, and tools to progress organisational frameworks.’(Hiscock and Jones 2017)
Your task
The NRR also produces a matrix of risks in much the same manner as the WEF risk report. See pages 9-10 at the following link:Cabinet Office (2017) National Risk Register Of Civil Emergencieswork [online] available from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-risk-register-of-civil-emergencies-2017-editionHow do the WEF Global risks compare to the UK National Risk Register? What similarities and differences can you see?The board of a company has the overall accountability to ensure that risks are identified and managed to ensure the long-term sustainability of the business. Companies (ie those with share/stockholders) typically publish their approach to risk management and their priority risks in their Annual Report and Accounts.Here is an example of such a report from Scottish Power a UK Utilities company. You can see the perceived risks listed on pages 10-13.Using the company above or an annual report from another operating in either the water, energy, or food manufacturing sectors:
- Identify the perceived risks
- How do you think these risks compare to the risks identified in the material above?
- What other issues do you think/know the company have taken into account in identifying the major threats posed to their operations?
References
Franklin (2019) Global Risks Report reminds us to take a holistic view of risk [online] available from https://www.zurichna.com/en/knowledge/articles/2019/01/global-risks-report-reminds-us-to-take-a-holistic-view-of-risk [07 May 2019]Craig, C. (2018). How Does Government Listen to Scientists? Springer.Hiscock, K., Jones, A. (2017) ‘Assessing the Extent to Which the UK’s National Risk Register Supports Local Risk Management’. Sustainability (Switzerland), 9 (11).Business Continuity Management and Crisis Management: An Introduction

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