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Operational Risk Management: A Case Study Approach to Effective Planning and Response | 
 enlarge | Author: Mark D. Abkowitz
Publisher: Wiley
Category: Book
List Price: $50.00
Buy New: $24.95
You Save: $25.05 (50%)
New (21) from $24.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 459039
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 278
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.4 x 1.1
ISBN: 0470256982
Dewey Decimal Number: 658.155
EAN: 9780470256985
ASIN: 0470256982
Publication Date: April 4, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW...IMMEDIATE SHIPPING
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Product Description
Operational Risk Management offers peace of mind to business and government leaders who want their organizations to be ready for any contingency, no matter how extreme. This invaluable book is designed to be used as both a preparatory resource for when times are good and an emergency reference when times are bad. Author Mark Abkowitz gets managers up to speed on what they should be prepared to deal with and offers real solutions for putting those business continuity plans in place. From natural and man-made disasters to terrorist attacks, Operational Risk Management is destined to become every risk manager's ultimate weapon to help their organization survive — no matter what. Using fascinating case studies, this timely book examines risk from worldwide disasters and their underlying causes from three perspectives: manmade accidents, terrorist acts, and natural disasters - Examines whether each event could have been prevented
- Shows how these casualty events share many risk factors in common, regardless of whether their occurrence is an act of nature, accidental, or intentional
- Uses historical events to demonstrate how operational risk management practices (or lack of) influence event likelihood and outcomes across all hazard domains
- Discusses lessons learned that risk managers can use to ensure they have strong plans in place
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
Business is a risk, however . . . June 30, 2008
Abkowitz has compiled an impressive number of high profile case studies to illustrate our need to pay attention to the risks we have in our business operations, and for that matter, our personal lives. But unlike the multiple points of view found in the Harvard Business Review case studies, Abkowitz provides definitive analysis of "what went wrong" and allows us to see clearly what we might do in our own organizations to minimize operational risk.
This excellent book is broken into Four Parts, comprising several chapters each. Those parts are; Man Made Accidents, Terrorist Acts, Natural Disasters, and Success Stories. Then the final chapter brings things together in "Lessons Learned," while the epilogue gives us some ideas on where we might go from here.
Abkowitz notes in chapter one that there are 10 basic risk factors he considered: Design and construction flaws, Deferred maintenance, Economic pressure, Schedule constraints, Inadequate training, Not following procedures, Lack of planning and preparedness, Communication failure, Arrogance, and Stifling political agendas. Based on these, he analyzed many major disasters, summarized the results and gleaned some interesting lessons from the analysis.
There were 12 "Lessons Learned" presented based on the 10 risk factors spelled out in chapter one. The 12 lessons are:
1.Risk factors work together to generate an event with disastrous consequences
2.Communication failure is a risk factor in every disaster, irrespective of whether the event is caused by accident, intentional act, or nature
3.Take planning and preparedness seriously; it should never be short-changed
4.Economic pressure is a chronic problem that appears as a risk factor in most man-made accidents and natural disasters and in some intentional acts
5.Not following procedures is a significant problem in man-made accidents, and is also present in some natural disasters and intentional acts
6.Design and construction flaws are the bane of man-made accidents
7.Co not underestimate the significance of political agendas in creating high-risk situations
8.Arrogance among individuals and organizations is perhaps a far more significant risk factor than previously imagined
9.The lack of uniform safety standards across different nations creates an uneven risk management playing field, conditions ripe for exploitation
10.Regardless of how well risks are being addressed, "luck" can change your fortunes one way or another
11.It usually takes a disastrous event to convince people that something needs to be done
12.Risk cannot be entirely avoided; nothing can be designed or built to perfection, nor last forever
This book will be invaluable for those times when I'm searching for examples of why our organization needs to make a change. It should serve as a warning to all our leadership in private and public organizations that we must pay attention to and encourage proper planning and expenditures to mitigate our organizational risk.
A Valuable Resource and an Excellent Read June 12, 2008
ON POINT! Dr. Abkowitz manages to engage the reader by using real-world examples and insightful analysis while providing an excellent read. This is a MUST for all who work in the field of risk/environmental management and a DEFINITE READ for anyone interested in obatining a "behind the scenes" look at some of the most horrific disasters of our time. Most importantly this book offers some valuable lessons in critical thinking that will assist anyone who must plan to prevent or respond to such risks in the future.
 We Must Learn From History June 3, 2008
Mark Abkowitz has written a well researched and pertinent book analyzing and assessing different kinds of disasters: man made, natural, and terrorist. He has done an amazing job pinpointing areas that can be changed, what probably can't change and what we as citizens can do to incorporate these ideas into more safety for our country, our community and our planet.
I receommend this book to all who care about the next disaster and how it can be averted.
Practical and Telling! May 16, 2008
Mark Abkowitz has produced a truly readable and entertaining guidebook to risk management. By simplifying complex case studies down into causal event chains; Abkowitz has demonstrated the repetitive occurrance of 10 basic risk factors. Knowledge of these 10 basic factors is an excellent starting point for customizing and assessing ones own risk management program. I further would like to say this book is not just for risk managers but for anyone who enjoys history or is unsatisfied with the mass media's shallow sensational coverage of most catostrophic events. Abkowitz ends this story with a useful summary of lessons learned and an epilogue with a punchline point that should seem obvious after reading the book; but somehow has not been adopted by our federal, state, and local governments on any large scale.
An excellent risk management resource! May 14, 2008
Operational risk management follows a case study approach to effective planning and response. The case studies have been categorized into (1) man-made accidents, (2) natural disasters, and (3) terrorist acts. This book is driven by the idea that identifying and learning from mistakes in the past can help minimize or even prevent losses in the future. A couple of risk management success stories (United Flight 232 and Denali Quake- Alaskan Pipeline) are also presented.
The case studies are selected from different industries and are analyzed in a clear and concise way. Several risk factors are identified for each case study and the key lessons are summarized. This book is an excellent resource for both common people and risk managers. The book identifies risks, improves risk perception, and provides steps for mitigating risks faced by society today.
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