WDYMB on Andrew Sheves

WDYMB…Risk Perception and Risk Communication?

Mon, 03 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Complicated, subtle factors affect how we perceive risk and these can be exacerbated by the way we receive risk information. We refer to the ways we think about and react to risks as risk perception, and the processes for discussing risk as risk communication. Even when people are in the same or very similar situations, they may perceive the risks very differently. Similarly, different people listening to the same risk information will react to it differently depending on several factors that affect their perspective. The overall result of this is “the general frustration experienced by both risk managers and affected parties in conveying and understanding risk information”.[i]

WDYMB…Understanding?

Fri, 03 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0000

*Understanding is not the same as having information – it is the process of putting that information into context to work out what it means in a particular situation. We conduct a similar process on a larger scale during the ‘understand’ stage of the risk management process. During this time, we build on our knowledge of an organization to understand the risks it faces. *

The term ‘understand’ is both an activity and a stage in our risk management process. As an activity, understanding means relating that information to a situation. Chess is often used as an illustration because I may know the names of the pieces on a chess board and what they can do, but I could still not understand chess. How the pieces interact, the set moves, strategies and how to apply these are all necessary to understand the game. Understanding can be achieved by asking the questions ‘why?’ or ‘so what?’ until you run out of questions.

What is Risk?

Fri, 24 Feb 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Risk and risk discussions are often hampered by inconsistent terminology and a high degree of subjectivity. To overcome this, we need to understand what we mean when we ask ‘what is risk?’. This article lays out a concept for risk using the ISO definition – the effect of uncertainty on objectives. It breaks individual risks into their three main components: threat, vulnerability and impact for downside risks or opportunity, and exposure and impact for upside risks. These concepts form the basis for all subsequent risk discussions and lay the groundwork for a risk assessment methodology.