It is an unpredictable world. We can plan but there is simply no way one can guarantee how events would eventually unfold. Experiences – both personal and of others – can be used to predict and prepare for a multitude of possible risks in a single task. And, instead of blaming or finding faults, you will be better off to actually manage them by providing solutions.
Understanding Risk
In an institution, project risks represent uncertainty wherein certain interactions and/or events or situations do not have any particularly defined outcome. They are attended to and classified according to their level of complexity. This means that those risks with a potentially low complexity system can be dealt with easily if the people who handled it indeed have the required set of skills to do the work based on their judgment of experiences. As we move along the continuum, however, other elements and components (including people) are introduced to form relationships and an increasing dependency over that single challenge.
Managing Risk
It is defined as the proactive process that identifies threats, assesses the vulnerability of assets, determines consequences, and eventually prioritizes the different procedures so that they can appropriately diminish or altogether remove the negative impact. The course to be followed is estimated based on the business and the type of risks involved. From the common type such as workplace accidents to more formal issues relating to lawsuits, the external (un)predictable and technical matters, the paradigm deals with all sorts of uncertainty for as long as it takes to complete the project satisfactorily.
By employing the strategy of risk management in a workplace, people provide for themselves means to protect their endeavors. Some adapt it and make space to accommodate and give cover to their employees, customers as well as their facilities and resources.
Problem Solving
Not a single day goes by when we do not hear others (or ourselves) complaining of the number and the frequency of problems with which we are surrounded. Since there is not enough time to be creative, what most of us tend to end up with is temporary lightening the tension instead of cutting through its core.
Can the leaders and managers of a team do that as well? You bet they cannot. They cannot afford to. They need to curtail the recurrence in order to maintain a proper momentum in the organization. The leaders have the ability to sense and critically evaluate a crisis erupting from within or outside the company. Sometimes, the existing troubles serve as improvements for the protocols and standard operational practices in place.
An unbiased, thorough observation is needed besides wisdom to analytically bridge the differences in the way an operation is at present and the way that it ought to be. Problem solving, in contrast to risk management, is reactive in nature and needs extensive resources to be taken into consideration. The options reduce significantly the longer that it takes for a problem to be realized. Transparent communication is one technique that is often used to solve problems.
The importance of problem solving and risk management cannot be emphasized enough. They assist in the evolution of an individual company with the people, budget, resources, and knowledge available.
