Risk Management
When it comes to risk management, may people center on things like employee safety concerns, project management, efficiency and other things like that. For example, a risk that many firms would develop is that a lack of efficiency would reduce competitive edge as well as profits. There are other things such as the proper use of equipment that can literally kill people if the wrong things are done. Even things like cardboard balers and trash compactors can be a huge problem if the equipment is not maintained properly and/or the employees are using it in the wrong manner. However, there is a risk that not many people speak of but is an absolute must to keep in mind, and that risk is becoming obsolete. Even in recent years, many firms like Circuit City, Blockbuster Video and others have fallen away and no longer exist. Other firms are hanging on but their fate seems eventual at this point. While industry does not reinvent itself at a frenetic pace, it certainly still happens and firms that do not adjust properly will quite likely cease to exist.
Analysis
To drive the point home about how industries can evolve and change...
Montgomery Ward's is gone. Sears Roebuck used to be the retail king in this country. Nowadays, it would seem that them and their corporate partner K-Mart are in a slow death spiral. JC Penney's, Dillard's and Macy's are still around but are not exactly breaking records. Over the last one or two generations, retailers like Target and Wal-Mart have blown by the rest of the competition and still do well because there are only so many things that one can get online. Speaking of online retailers, Amazon, Wayfair and a few other notable firms are absolutely demolishing many facets of the retail sector. Consumer electronics would be a great example. One would think that two national-level electronics firms (Best Buy and Circuit City) could exist but that is not the case as the latter of those two was liquidated. Even though Best Buy now basically has a monopoly on the national brick and mortar electronics store markets (although regional stores like HH Gregg and Fry's are in the mix), they still are getting hosed by Amazon as many use Best Buy to shop and make a choice and…
