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Poole College of Management
Enterprise Risk Management Initiative

Briefs and Insights

Jul 30, 2019

Creating Value from Risk

Are senior executives and organizational stakeholders placing too much confidence in their organization’s risk management capabilities? Deloitte recently surveyed board members and the C-suite to find out how capable these organizations are at integrating risk management within their pursuit of value creation. Deloitte’s main findings point to major overconfidence that should be taken as a warning sign: many stakeholders are likely overstating their risk awareness and capabilities.

Apr 30, 2019

ERM and Sustainability

Over the last decade, corporations have begun paying increased attention to issues involving sustainability and risk oversight, and linking these efforts to an organization's strategy. Research and thought papers now are addressing the growing challenges related to water scarcity, resource availability, climate disruption, waste reduction, and corporate responsibility. Many organizations have embraced the new sustainability movement, but have discovered a wide-range of challenges before them. These initiatives sometimes appear as disjointed, or misunderstood, which lead to a number of problems when getting started.

Feb 21, 2019

Are Universities & Colleges Doing Enough to Manage Reputational Risk?

In a recent survey by United Educators, it is clear that more colleges and universities than ever are implementing enterprise risk management (ERM) as a way to prepare for and respond to risks and opportunities. The question is, however, whether institutions are prepared for one of the largest emerging risks to universities and colleges: reputational risk. This article assesses ERM practices at colleges and universities, describes reputational risk factors, and provides the best practices for identifying, prioritizing, and mitigating reputational risks.

Feb 5, 2019

Recognizing the Risk Impact of an Aging Workforce

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in their most recent ten-year labor force and employment projections, the number of individuals aged 55 and above in the labor force will grow from 35.7 million in 2016 to 42.1 million in 2026. Organizations will experience this impact in different ways based on their size, growth, industry and historical hiring and layoffs.

Jan 29, 2019

Behaviors That Shape Corporate Culture

Corporate culture and the behaviors that shape them are always a hot topic amongst c-level management, journalists, consultants and employees of the organization. There is a traditional and typically accepted viewpoint that altering the mindsets of employees with fancy phrases and showcasing the desired qualities of culture will lead to behavior change due to employees’ willingness to conform to the new standards. However, corporate culture has three dimensions that affect its alignment which are symbolic reminders, keystone behaviors, and mind-sets. Contrary to popular belief, behavioral changes will have the longest lasting impact on culture.

Jan 29, 2019

Strategic Risk Transformation for Organizations

Strategic risks are important now more than ever in the economic environment we live in. Regulatory risks arise each year, along with new emerging risks from technology and innovation. That is why it is so critical for organizations to consider their strategy and how it effects their risks. This article summarizes a structured process set out by Deloitte on how to identify risks, and then implement a plan to transform your company to be protected from catastrophic events and to minimize the damage caused by these events.

Jan 29, 2019

Joint Venture Blind Spots and Strategies to Avoid Them

Joint ventures are developed through a five stage process requiring complex decisions to be made by varying teams. Joint venture success depends heavily on cross-process discipline throughout business planning and implementation while simultaneously be aware of and counteracting common blind spots. These blind spots are pressures that can undermine joint venture success. They include rushing to completion, a lack of leadership continuity, declining parent involvement, and insufficient planning to respond to changes in risk. This article discusses the causes of these blind spots and strategies to avoid them.

Jan 29, 2019

The Three Types of War Gaming

War gaming is a tool that is not utilized often enough by organizations. War gaming provides an organization with realistic situations and outcomes based on a certain set of information. There are three types of decisions that war gaming can have strong influences on which are product level decisions, portfolio level decisions, and market entry decisions. Each type of war gaming provides an assessment of how competitors will react to certain offerings and how they will innovate their own products. This will give an organization insight to make the necessary changes to their services or products to be successful in the market.

Jan 29, 2019

Trends in Crisis Management & Strategies to Survive a Crisis

There is an increased emphasis on crisis management by organizations around the world as both the frequency of crises and the impact of these crises are growing. An organization should consider past crises, crisis leadership, perceived versus actual preparedness, proactive crisis management, and third party involvement. Read this article to learn more about these considerations and the current trends in crisis management.

Jan 4, 2019

Recognizing the Shamrock Organization and Emerging Risks It May Create

When you think about your organization’s workforce and its related talent needs, there are a number of dynamics to consider. We have all heard about the Millennials and we are beginning to learn about the group that follows them - often referred to as the iGeneration or the Homeland Generation - who bring different skills and expectations to the workforce. Organizations are experiencing the graying of their talent as the boomers are aging. Unprecedented advancements in technology, including the impact with artificial intelligence and digital transformation, are changing how organizations develop and deliver products or services. These developments along with record low unemployment are intensifying skill shortages. And a company named Uber has taught us about the new Gig economy. How will these trends impact the workforce structure for organizations, thereby introducing new types of emerging risks for executives and boards to consider?