Risk Management - Risks in Marketing, Finance, and Administration - Coursework Example

Title: Risk Management Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code and Name: University: Date of Submission: Risk Management Introduction Risk management is an essential mode of containing any given activity supposed mishaps through systematic and logical ways that seek to identify and analyse every step involved to its success. The case study at hand presents us a chance to analyse the risks involved in events organization citing the staging of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar and the death of Admiral Lord Nelson in 2005. The event, marked as important in the hearts of the British was heralded as to bring together large crowds among them dignitaries such as the queen, governmental leaders and allies from around the world (Allen et al 2008, p. 611). The principal events included international fleet review where vessels from almost forty countries would be arraigned in the sea. There was also an air display of both military and commercial aircrafts in addition to mega scale lighting and pyrotechnic effects of tall ships. Again, the Royal Navy would honour the event using a 72-gun salute and finally a dinner party in the Her Majesty Ship used by napoleon. In lieu of this, it was paramount that safety was enhanced from all dimensions and made priority. In any event, whether small or grand it is important to manage risk as it is dynamic and the consequences may be dire. Risks identified in the case study The measure of risk can be evaluated by considering the likelihood and the consequence. The likelihood of a risk is defined as the possibility or probability of its occurrence. If an event is prone to occur every day then its likelihood is rather certain. On the other hand, consequence is measured in terms of the losses that will be incurred. Human life is placed as the most expensive followed by property in the descending order of their monetary value. Risk management entails the maximization of opportunities with the aim of achieving outputs with minimal or no risks. Before making any move, it is important to establish the goals. In this case, the objective was to commemorate the Battle of Trafalgar without any hitches. The analysis of risks is vital in order to judge the areas in which safety measures should be emphasized (Tranter 2004, p. 43). There were many military vessels in a crowded place so the challenge was to find safe anchorage of the vessels. The heavy tides posed a danger on the ships and it was hard to maintain a security cordon. The likelihood of this risk was so minimal but the consequence would mean destruction of highly valued property. It was also difficult to manage the arrival and departure of the large multitude of people without any form of ticketing. They came in masses and sometimes it became rowdy. The potential risk would be people stumping down on each other, fighting and suffocating. Again, it was hard to manage mass crowds that were lined at the sea front because some could have tripped in the sea with a potential risk of drowning. The management of the crowds was the most challenging because its likelihood was high and the consequence fatal. Moreover, the dinner at Her Majesty Ship would mean food needed to be served so there was risk of poisoning if care was not taken. The likelihood of this would be almost zero but if the risk turned real, there would be serious consequences. In lieu of this, it had to be identified as a potential risk worth checking. In addition, the safety crew had a potential risk of dealing with the effects of weather changes and the subsequent repercussions on mobile toilets, press, and provision of power. The Safety Work Group established by T200 was quick to dismiss the manager’s suggestions as per the risk level. They said that it is important to consider risks that have a higher likelihood of occurrence than those with higher consequence. In this particular event, the safety officers were keen on daily risks like suffocation and drowning rather than the danger of nuclear power used in the air display of weapons. Human side risk management It is important to focus on the human element because it is easier to identify weak links and adjust to the situation accordingly. In order to mitigate the proliferation of risks, the human element is vital as it develops a plan without fail. The power of command is established so that all events and participants are well controlled. Everyone follows the laid out plan and recognizes his or her job. Again, incorporating the human element on the plan would lead to competence as the right person for each role is sought (Reese 2009, p. 72). The people obligated to perform a certain role must uphold the required standards. For instance, in the commemoration of the battle of Trafalgar incorporation of the human side was important because it was a large event with potential risks in different areas. The structure of command was built in such a way that only experts would deal with specific risk areas. There were people in charge of crowd management, traffic, media, cast, food, first aid and much more. If the magnitude and complexity of the tasks in an event are enormous, then the human side of risk management is vital. This is because many safety officers may be dispatched to control all the areas and work together in consultation. In the event, all nations, military, and civilians who graced the occasion stood united and all traces of self-interest were eliminated (Marrison 2002, p.102). This kind of solidarity leads to cooperation thus reducing the likelihood of any risk. Human side risk management allows a chain of command to be established in order o formulate the hierarchy of communication. The right mode of communication should also be used in order to cover all risk areas. In this event, each group of people present had their own coded language so this had to be unified to prevent misinterpretation and time consumption. Overall, human side risk management is important because it can adapt to changes with more flexibility. However, humans are affected by emotions elicited by some external stimulus that would bar their influence on risk perception. This would lead to over or under estimation of the problem at hand. Risks in marketing, finance, and administration The potential risks that may accrue to the business on the administration side and may be evaluated as those that can lead to an overall decline in productivity .They may include succession failures where the incumbent directors or officers are unqualified for that position. A manager holds the organization’s productivity so if there are problems in his qualifications then the company may suffer a drop in productivity (Butler 1997, p. 44). Thus, the administration should conduct a succession plan for some months prior to recruiting any worker. Again, the administration is liable for the well-being of the employees. If the risk of employee practices’ liability has not been identified, it may lead to problems with the court or unions about their welfare. In addition, the administration is charged with the risk of non-cooperation in the organization. This may be caused if strategies are not formulated in team building or executive coaching. In lieu of this, the employees in an organization must identify with the company’s objectives and put aside their self-interests for the greater good. Marketing risks may include a mismatch with the consumers’ tastes and preferences. This may be caused by inadequate market research that gives preliminary guidelines as to the performance of a product in the market (Beach 2010, p. 84). Again, there may be risks pertaining to stock control in that the company may demand more than the consumers actually want. This may create problems with surplus stock causing the business to sell the extra units at less than market rate. It is also a risk for the business if they do not strategize on ways of promoting their products through advertisements. The lesser the awareness by consumers about a good, the less will be the market share thus leading to a decline in sales. Financial risks are those based upon the returns that accrue to the business after an investment is made. The potential risks include liquidity or bankruptcy brought about when a business over-invests in futile projects. In addition, financial risks may accrue if an event that cost a lot of money fails and the damage is great (Galai 2005, p. 66). Therefore, businesses must establish the pros and cons of certain mega projects to avoid any potential losses. Out of all these risks, administration risks would flow into the safety area. If the administration is uncoordinated then the objectives of the event may differ. For instance in the commemoration of the battle of Trafalgar, the Events Safety Shop was hired as the key organization in charge of security. The Manager, made sub-groups of safety specialists who were to report all their decisions to him before implementation. This coordination was perfect and safety was achieved for a multitude of people. Importance of tabletop exercises and feasible scenarios in the case study Tabletop exercises are discussions by a team leader and his group on ways to solve emergencies. These exercises are highly interactive and people learn from each other‘s experiences just like a brainstorming session. They are also important in evaluation and review of the plans laid for an event (Green 2000, p.24). They are important because they create an atmosphere in which the personnel are acquainted to each other and are quite cheap to set up. The demerit is that it lacks realism and may fail to produce the actual test of an emergency management’s capabilities. Overall, tabletop exercises are very important because they help in forecasting potentials risks and finding the feasible solutions. They are also effective because they emphasize the objectives and priorities of an event so all self-interests by the members are set aside to make a project successful. The possible scenarios would include finding solutions in case some civilians fell over the sea front. The feasible actions would be to find ways of saving them from drowning and giving first aid. Again, during dinner there was a risk of food poisoning or allergy reactions to some ingredients so the possible solution was to set medics ready for such situations. Moreover, the risk of rainy sessions would disrupt the event and cause the sea level to rise. The best solutions would be to set up tents in advance and keep people some distance away from the sea line. In addition, the risk of arrival and departure of many people would be dangerous if they were not arraigned systematically. The feasible approach would be to find ways in which they would arrive and leave without using tickets that would be expensive. Lastly, there was a risk to the vessels if anchorage was unsafe so some Royal Navy should be set aside to stay in the vessels to steer the vessels against the heavy tides. Therefore, the Safety Work Group should have played out this scenarios and gauge any flaws that may exist. Contingency plans in prevention of fatal accidents Contingency plans are a set of activities that are pre-determined with the hope of curbing any disaster that may arise unexpectedly. A contingency plan for a major accident would require all the names of the emergency contacts to be drafted (Childs 2002, p. 98). In this event, all the specialists in the different risk areas should give out their contacts. Every member of the group should have his or her responsibility clearly defined in the plan so that confusion may not arise. Again, all the emergency equipments should be set aside in an area that is known by the safety work group. Lastly, all the hospital arrangements should be made to avoid deaths. In this case, the worst that could have happened is if the crowds became rowdy and people stumped on each other while others fell over the sea. T200 safety company director would have drawn a contingency plan of all his specialists and their contacts. The specialists on medical risks should be given highest priority in terms of decision-making. There should be ambulances at the site and first aid equipments should be strategically kept at different locations within the site with several team members keeping vigil. Lastly, they should make arrangements with hospitals within the vicinity to admit severe cases. This is the only way the accidents would not become fatal. Conclusion The commemoration of the battle of Trafalgar was successful because the group in charge were well prepared. In lieu of this, there are various recommendations to be emphasized in case of risk management. First off when organizing an event, the event coordinator should think about safety from the start (Pinkowski 2008, p. 88)). It always saves many finances and prevents any form of grief. Again, a strong framework with back-up plans should be formulated in readiness of any emergency. Lastly, all the stakeholders and staff should be extensively consulted to verify any feasible risks and solutions. References List “200th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar” in Allen J, O’Toole W, Harris R, & McDonnell I 2008 Festival and Special Event Management 4ed. Wiley, Austarlia, pp. 612-617. Beach, M 2010, Disaster Preparedness and Management, F.A Davis Company, Detroit, USA. Butler, J 1997, Contingency Planning and Disaster Recovery: Protecting Your Organization's Resources, Computer Technology Research Corporation, New York, NY. Childs R. D 2002, Contingency Planning and Disaster Recovery: A Small Business Guide, Wiley, Detroit, USA. Galai, D 2005, The Essentials of Risk Management, McGraw Hill, New York, NY. Green, W. G 2000, Exercise Alternatives for Training Emergency Management Command Center Staffs, Universal Publishers, New York, NY. Haddow, G 2007, Introduction to Emergency Management, Butterworth-Heinemann, London, UK. Marrison, C 2002, The Fundamentals of Risk Measurement, McGraw Hill, New York, NY. Pinkowski, J 2008, Disaster Management Handbook (Public Administration and Public Policy), CRC Press, Boca Raton, USA. Reese, C. D 2009, Occupational health and safety management: a practical approach, CRC Press Boca Raton, USA. Tranter, M 2004, Occupational hygiene and risk management (electronic resource) Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, NSW. Read More