Corporate Risk Management - Latent

Corporate Risk Management - Latent Disasters

In corporate risk management, the assessment of possible latent disasters is particularly important, as these are not always obvious. A company could incur significant risks if a risk management strategy is not thoroughly carried out. This is particularly the case in companies where risks are generally high - such as construction companies, in which the risk of injury or environmental pollution are easily overlooked. The same is true of the different personalities within the workplace, especially as these relate to issues of discrimination and harassment.

The environment has become the top priority for many companies, since the drive to conservation of our future world has come to the attention not only of environmentalists, but also of businesses. Preventing disasters such as spillage is therefore not just an obligation for many companies, but also a sound business decision. It is therefore necessary to take the utmost care in assessing the danger of spillage effectively, so that this can be prevented.

According to the Environment Agency (2007), the most common pollutant in the UK is oil stored in containers above the ground. These carry a particular risk, as containers may have leakages that are overlooked when storing the oil in them. Furthermore, the time period of storage carries a high risk, as an increased time of storage also leads to higher risks of spillage. The Agency makes a number of suggestions to prevent this.

One of these suggestions is regular checks of storage containers - at least weekly, according to the Environment Agency. These checks should be thorough and ensure that there is no damage to the storage tanks. The Agency also suggests a contingency plan if a leakage should occur. Absorbent materials, for example should be kept onsite, and employees should be thoroughly trained in their use. The most important factor is to control the pollution before a large amount of environmental damage occurs. A company should therefore be fully aware of the exact risks of above-ground storage tanks before putting preventative or contingency plans in place.

Another truly current form of risk carried by a company is discrimination on the grounds of any factors such as religion, race, age, gender, or a myriad others. While it may be seen as quite simple to put preventative measures in place to limit discrimination within a company, large companies especially may have difficulty in monitoring every case of discrimination in the company. There are however risk factors that can be taken into account when assessing discrimination issues.

The amount of diversity in a company and its various divisions should for example be taken into account. It should be ensured that there is a reasonably fair distribution in terms of various diversity factors such as religion, race, and gender. Furthermore, training programs and informal events can go a long way towards introducing employees to each other from a basis other than their personal preferences or heritage. Such issues should be handled with extreme care, while the specific personalities should be taken into account. A secretary may for example see a comment that was meant as a joke, as good grounds for a law suit. Such issues can be mitigated by training and an open communication system between employers and employees.