risk management - Director Magazine

FLEXIBILITY IS THE KEY FOR THE FUTURE
increased global mobility
Companies and individuals are no longer tied to any one country but can move
to wherever represents the best balance between skill and cost. Witness, for
instance, the growing dominance of China and relative decline of Japan. A
population growth of around 95 per cent is estimated in the urban regions of
developing countries while, at the same time, the absolute population of
Europe is declining. Such trends will in due course have profound impacts.
the growth of ‘interest groups’ and communities
These groups – which are often pan-national in nature and facilitated by the
internet – are leading to the erosion of the power of nation states and the
growth of worldwide terrorism. However, they can also be a force for good,
bringing together knowledge sharing, or linking buyers and sellers in areas
where previously local approaches were not cost-effective. Electronic ‘word of
mouth’ is becoming a powerful marketing tool.
climate change and environmental impairment
These issues are both often dismissed on the basis that they are so major that no
individual business can hope to influence them. Whether one accepts growing
evidence or not, windstorm damage and flooding in the UK alone have increased
substantially over the past 20 years. In many cases, these have been exacerbated
by our own actions, such as modifying our environment by building over
floodplains or on sites previously considered too exposed to be habitable.
new risks posed by new technologies
Technological change is a double-edged sword, since new technologies
always harbour new risks. The average gaming console today has greater
computing power than the best super-computer a decade ago. The advent of
‘universal computing’ has spurred other changes, both in our attitudes and
the social fabric of life.
With technology, the biggest risk is to take too narrow a view and to ignore the
wider implications – both for good or bad.
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