Risk Management at Global Green Books Publishing: Mini Case
This paper examines the project risk challenges faced by Global Green Books Publishing as the company transitioned from informal operations to fulfilling a large college contract. It identifies the key risks — late delivery, poor quality, and inefficient resource utilization — and traces their root causes to inadequate project management practices, a lack of stakeholder communication, and the absence of estimation tools or project software. The paper assesses the probability and potential impact of each risk and recommends structured responses, including the creation of a risk register and a formal project risk management plan. It concludes by outlining the skills and competencies organizations need to manage project risk effectively.
- Introduction: Key Risks at Global Green Books: Core project risks threatening the company's new contract
- Causes of Each Risk: Poor planning, communication, and tool use as root causes
- Probability of Occurrence and Potential Impact: Each risk rated high probability and very serious impact
- Recommended Responses to Each Risk: Risk register, management plans, and stakeholder coordination
- Skills and Competencies for Managing Project Risk: Key skills needed for effective project risk management
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What makes this paper effective
- Clear, direct organization that mirrors a structured risk management framework — identifying risks, diagnosing causes, assessing probability and impact, then recommending responses.
- Consistent use of supporting citations (Larson & Gray, 2017; Larsson & Larsson, 2020) to ground practical recommendations in academic project management literature.
- Concise, accessible writing that avoids jargon while still applying professional project management concepts to a realistic case scenario.
Key academic technique demonstrated
This paper demonstrates applied case analysis: the student takes an abstract framework (project risk management) and maps each component — identification, cause analysis, probability/impact assessment, and response planning — directly onto a specific organizational scenario. This technique shows the ability to move from theory to practice systematically.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a five-part structure that mirrors a professional risk management report. It opens by identifying the company's key risks, then explains their root causes, evaluates their likelihood and severity, proposes mitigation strategies, and closes by identifying the human competencies needed to implement those strategies. Each section builds logically on the last, creating a coherent diagnostic and prescriptive arc.
Introduction: Key Risks at Global Green Books
Key risks for Global Green Books Publishing included failing to deliver ebooks to its new college customer on time, operating without any project management tools — no project software or techniques for estimation — and operating without a budget. The company was also operating without communicating to stakeholders and without any formal process for managing risk. As a result of functioning in this manner, these risks quickly turned into real problems. The company became unable to control costs, unable to provide quality texts, unable to deliver on time, and unable to leverage resources effectively.
The company stumbled at precisely the moment it took on a new, large contract with the college — a contract that would require discipline, coordination, organization, oversight, and risk management to fulfill. Global Green Books had enjoyed success in its first two years by essentially flying by the seat of its pants, but now it had large customers with significant needs and high expectations. The company could no longer afford to operate in such an unstructured manner.
References
Larson, E., & Gray, C. (2017). Project Management: The Managerial Process (7th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Larsson, J., & Larsson, L. (2020). Integration, application and importance of collaboration in sustainable project management. Sustainability, 12(2), 585.
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