Category Archives: Decision Making
How to Visualize Risk
Mark is boarding a plane and heard one passenger in front remarked in jest that the chance of the aircraft reaching its destination is 50%. It is just a joke to that person but not to him because he is … Continue reading
Philosophy of Risk-based Management
The journey of learning risk and how to manage it is most rewarding to the curious thinker. Curiosity generates interest. Interest produces efforts that result in good education. Two key components of risk are probability, and impact. They describe probability of achieving objectives and effect on objectives respectively. Continue reading
Risks, Benchmarks, and Innovations
The question often thrown on the table is to whom should management listen? How can management be sure they are getting the right information? There is no certain answer to this, but a discerning manager can listen to everyone on duty and identify the real substance. When everyone sings in chorus and one does not, it does not mean he is wrong. Continue reading
Diversity Risk in the Canadian Workplace
If we look in the past, multiculturalism has a long and wide history in Canada. It was then adopted by the government during the 1970s and 1980s (Kobayashi, 1993) and (Duncan & Duncan, 1993).
From that time onwards, various religious and cultural influences flourished in our society; from the family to the workplace and into the main building blocks of Canadian politics. They consist of people from a multitude of racial, religious, and cultural background.
Multiculturalism was an open invitation to “cultural pluralism”, a state where smaller groups within a larger society maintain their unique cultural identities. It means that the values and practices of a distinct cultural group are accepted by the wider culture provided they do not violate any governing laws and values.
Note that “cultural pluralism” is often confused with “multiculturalism”.
Yes, the attributes are very similar except for one evident distinction-“multiculturalism lacks the requirement for a dominant culture (Wikipedia, 2013.Cultural Pluralism).
In the midst of these diversities lie the risks and questions that we all have to answer and manage every day. Continue reading
Diversity Risk – Case 1 : Nho Klu
I happened to come across Nho recently and he has this to say:
“My family immigrated to Canada in 2003 and was into my second year when I got employed in that EPC company where I eventually reported to John. When John talked, I was all ears. By not being vocal against some of his methods, I thought I was showing my respect and loyalty. Although, I sometimes felt he does not have any idea about the task, I kept my mouth shut. He was my leader and I trusted him to do things correctly. I have never done anything unless I have his blessing. What kind of Leader was he that after giving my best approving-yes-attitude and respect, that was how he repaid me? I do not have any idea.”
The truth is (that is whether you admit it or not) there will be times and occasions that one just cannot seem to get his message across and vice versa. The other party or parties apparently do not appreciate what one is bringing to the table. In the midst of these diversities lie the risks and questions that we all have to answer and manage every day (Frago, R., 2017.Diversity Risk in the Canadian Workplace.LinkedIn Pulse).
Managers tend to see the next person through perception all the time. He sees someone the way others painted the person or what he himself has painted the person to be.
The danger is, what the leader perceived might be farthest from the truth. Continue reading
Diversity Risk Case 2 : Puro Mali
Whether a person is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, the janitor or cleaner under contract, or a jobless person on the street, I am sure he wants some respect.
The challenges brought about by cultural differences like nationality, region, education, language, family values, political and professional affiliation, exposures, training, expectations, communication styles, philosophies, roles, positions, responsibility, unspoken languages, and many other potential differences produce the common office interactions and relationships we are seeing today in the workplace.
It is very interesting how new Canadians (newcomers to Canada) cope at work compared to their Canadian-trained counterparts in various settings.
In that aspect, communication being a two-way street, we can conclude that it will affect Canadian trained professionals to the same extent. The degree of understanding can improve only if one takes enough time to look through each other’s lenses. Seeing another person’s perspective with an open mind will influence the success and failures of any endeavor. Continue reading
Black Swans
Black swan events are so fascinating that they are a common source of discussion in many risk management forums. The variety of perspectives coming from all directions never ceases to amaze.
To a risk manager, ‘black swan’ phenomena are highly unlikely events that have massive impacts on a business or society on the rare occasions they occur. It means that the event is unexpected, but is of huge consequence (Ferguson, 2014). There is no scientific way at present to predict black swan events reasonably and acceptably.
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Risk Relativity
A person’s perspective depends on which side of the fence they are sitting on. With that in mind, a risk can be a threat or an opportunity. Your business sees a threat and your competitor sees an opportunity. It is as simple as that.
Each individual player within the risk universe will see things a bit differently compared to the next person, with some people interpreting things in exactly the opposite fashion. In each case, the person can see only one attribute.
The simplistic objective point of view is that risk is either a threat or an opportunity, depending on the observer’s orientation to the goal. Continue reading
Risk-based Planning and Scheduling Slides (SAIT Presentation)
101116 Risk-based Planning & Scheduling (My SAIT Slides) from PM SOLUTION PRO| Risk-based Management and Services Inc.
Egad! It is the Most Likely Schedule!
One has to remember that a schedule is a time estimate. It is not the exact actual time value at the time. Experienced professionals try to provide a plausible estimate. Nobody really knows what would be the definitive value.
ML date (or most likely duration) is not the same as expected date (or expected duration). It is but a component of the expected value. With the three point estimates (Triangular or Beta) available, one can calculate the expected duration of an activity, a group of activity, and the whole project’s duration.
It is one of the questions asked more often in risk-based planning and scheduling. Project directors, managers, planners, and schedulers have to know what this term means.
Each time a scheduler tries to explain the concept, he easily gets lost in his own circumlocution. It might be his indirectness compounded by the fact that this particular term shares common but blurred boundaries with some other project and risk management terms.
In view of such difficulties, let us put their words and thoughts on paper so that project practitioners can better understand. Continue reading
Your World, Our Risk Universe 
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