Managing Risk in Extreme Environments by Duncan Martin, Kogan Page India Pvt. Limited

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Kogan Page India Pvt. Limited Managing Risk in Extreme Environments by Duncan Martin

High-profile disasters from floods to terrorist attacks appear in our newspapers and on our TV screens almost daily. However the coverage rarely mentions risk or risk management. How do people and organizations really manage risk in such extreme circumstances? - You?re an infectious disease consultant on an isolation ward in Toronto and your atypical pneumonia patient isn?t responding to antibiotics. - You?re off duty when the reactor melts down and you have to replace your boss who is in hospital with radiation poisoning. - You?re the first emergency services personal on the platform after a bomb explodes on the London Underground and you have to decide who to save. When it really is a matter of life and death how do risk management strategies stand up to the pressure? And do these radical situations have a practical relevance for risk management policies in today?s business and financial worlds? Managing Risk in Extreme Environments looks at real-life examples and case studies ? from epidemics and terrorism to floods and earthquakes ? in order to extract risk management practices that have been tested in adverse conditions and shown to succeed. In drawing out such practices Duncan Martin shows how these vital lessons can be transferred effectively to the less extreme operational environments in which most of us work. Managing Risk in Extreme Environments offers an informative and gripping account of how risk management works in extreme situations. The author presents nine case studies of risk management strategies and practices in extreme environments: novel epidemics wildfires terrorism extreme humanitarian aid mountain rescue nuclear reactors extractive industries floods and earthquakes. These authoritative case studies provide a detailed assessment of the similarities and differences between these environments and also a comparison with risk management in corporates and financial institutions. The author uses these powerful examples to identity seven laws of extreme risk management. In doing so he illustrates the implications for risk management in general and shows how such lessons can be applied effectively in less extreme operational environments within the business and banking sectors.