"From tragic accidents to public relations fiascos, we live in an increasingly crisis-ridden society. In fact, half of the major industrial accidents of the past century occurred in the last 20 years. Incidents such as Bhopal and the Exxon Valdez have become embedded in our consciousness, cultural icons of the worst sort. Other crises, less devastating but with serious impact on their businesses, occur almost daily. Why is this--and what can be done to reverse this disturbing trend? According to Ian Mitroff, one of the world's leading experts on crisis management, the rise in the crisis rate is due to an ingrained ""it-can't happen-to-us"" mentality--which, in turn, leads to a total lack of preparedness for crises. His solution? Find out in Managing Crises Before They Happen. This fascinating book provides readers with a powerful framework that will help them: * Recognize the early warning signals that almost always precede a crisis * Focus on the big picture, not just the details * Avoid becoming either the victim or the villain in a crisis situation * Understand the importance of personal character, corporate culture, and thinking outside the box to effective crisis management * Learn from one crisis things that can prevent or ameliorate the next."

Traditionally, organizational risk managers focused on cost containment, aiming to attain the highest level of protection at the lowest possible cost. More recently, the growing embrace of enterprise risk management is prompting organizations to look at risk management as a source of value creation and competitive advantage. The leading enterprise risk management (ERM) frameworks - ISO 31000 and COSO - present compelling rationale but leave the "how-to" operational questions largely unanswered. Building on the idea of "risk profiling," Banasiewicz presents his vision for how the promise of ERM can be turned into an operational reality by thoughtfully leveraging quantitative & qualitative, numeric & text data. He outlines a step-by-step process for transforming readily available and informationally-rich, though not always well-utilized data into objective estimates of downside and upside risks. The overall focus of Risk Profiling of Organizations is on showing how otherwise diverse organizational exposures can be looked at as different parts of a single whole.

Taking on risk is simply a part of business. But new developments in technology and communication make risk management simpler and more effective than ever before. Using examples from companies such as Home Depot, Airbus, Boeing, and Nokia, author John Hampton takes a fresh look at one of the hottest topics in business today: weighing business opportunities against the possibilities of loss. Fundamentals of Enterprise Risk Management does this by introducing innovative new concepts such as hierarchical risk structures, alignment of risks with the business model, creation of a central risk function, and the role of an ERM knowledge warehouse. Readers will learn how to recognize both internal and external exposures; understand important concepts such as risk mapping and risk identification; recognize the weaknesses of current ERM systems; align risk opportunities with their organization's business model; and stay in line with Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. Featuring enlightening case studies and practical exercises, this essential book shows readers how they can implement ERM the right way to experience unapparelled successes at their organizations.

Despite the importance of insurance in enabling individual and collective social, economic, and financial activities, discussions about the macroeconomic role and risks of insurance markets are surprisingly limited. This book brings together academics, regulators, and industry experts to provide a multifaceted array of research and perspectives on insurance, its role and functioning, and the potential systemic risk it could create. The first part discusses the macroeconomic role of insurance and how insurance is different from banking and general finance. Understanding the differences between the balance sheets of insurers and other financial intermediaries is essential for understanding the potential differences in risk nature and optimal regulation. The second part of the book focuses on the risks managed by the insurance sector and the potential for systemic risk. The chapters discuss the risks both on the asset and liability sides of insurers' balance sheets. The third part of the book covers the impact of regulation on insurance companies. Existing regulation is often complex and has a large impact on insurance companies' decision-making and functioning. The chapters also illustrate the unintended consequences of various forms of regulation. The book concludes with a summary of a survey that has been conducted in collaboration with McKinsey, where insurance executives have been asked about the risks and regulation in the insurance sector. The survey provides guidance for future research on insurance markets.