Risk Management Plan for Organisations

Risk Management Plan

The risk management plan is created to protect the value of the organisation by managing risk and not avoiding it, improving the effective decision making to achieve the organisations objective (ISO, 2018). The philosophy of the continuation of the industry has also grown, incorporating new concepts, methods, and innovations. This inclination is to move beyond current business continuity principles through AS/NZS (2010) according to its stated definition.

Objectives

The future currently may seem uncertain regarding the pandemic, and the academics have severely been impacted globally, public university expansion is instantly halted. Private providers who rely on education and other fees, with many of them facing a decrease or even closure, are also hit hard. (Wondwosen & Damtew, 2020). Organizations from many sectors have realized the increasing importance of risk control and many businesses have set up risk management teams to handle their risk. The education and its consumers are generally related to a high degree of risk due to the existence of education risks. In a study by Raanan (2008), he states that the possible hazards in an organized, structured manner and the development of contingency measures – proposals to deal with these tragic incidents – well before they eventually take place. Risk management is carried out to reduce to an appropriate degree the effect of future threats on the company. He further stated 18 broad risk categories related to education. However, the focus of this study is to analyse the risk and develop an action plan on a risk which was not foreseen the global pandemic of COVID-19 and its implications on the Queensland University of Technology primarily focusing on the implementation of an online learning portal to mitigate the risk of closed institutions for a long term period and disrupt the education process. The risk of a learning curve being dropped is a pandemic on its own, which is why the online learning portal will create a platform for the continuity in business for society to function in an effective way. The benefits of implementation of a virtual learning environment have been on the rise in the literature the learning is beyond the geographical limitation, it is flexible, the potential to cater more student with the same resources, highly interactive, and surpasses all temporal constraints (Loh, Wong, Quazi, & Kingshott, 2016). The hazards are however also given with the technology implementation firstly the impact of the learning experience and motivation the physical setting brings is not present in the virtual learning environment, students feel isolated, and the self-learning motivation is difficult to arise without any focus from the instructors (Cereijo, 2006).  The unknown hazards of the technology are data information leakage and malicious attacks on these platforms. The report focuses on a general risk management plan highlighting the principles, framework, and process of risk management in accordance with ISO 31000 and AS/NZS 5050 standard for risk and business continuity. The action plan is developed to mitigate the risk of closed institutions for a longer period of time and how the organisations can evolve to continue its business to achieve the objectives.  

Developing a Risk Management Process

The Risk management for any organisation initiates from the principles which are adopted, and how they assist in developing a framework for the organisation which overall impacts the process of risk management. The standard AS/NZS 5050:2010 is a standard designed in accordance with AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009 which is designed to promote efficient control of all risks, assisted by an appropriate policy structure, which reflects the commitment, expertise, obligations and constant evaluation of success. The standard of AS/NZS 5050:2010 is a standard on the application of AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009 by the inclusion of the methodology on disruption affecting continuity of business organizations.

In Figure 1 we can see that the 12 principles which are present in AS/NZS 5050:2010 assist in the framework development which is mandate and commitment or vice versa we can say that mandate and commitment comprises of the 12 stated principles. The 12th principle “facilities continual improvement of the organisation” is an addition to the stated 11 principles in AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009, it is essential that the organisation adopts all these 12 principles to create a mission statement in simple terms which can is classified as mandate and commitment as stated by Weick and Sutcliffe (2001) in a study by Alexander (2005) he states that developing an external and internal risk control strategy or regulation, including analysis, and focusing on the objectives and principles the plan will be based on, which is a reflection of the design of the framework. Implementation of the framework, once it’s designed, is based on identifying the capability of the organisation and mechanisms of implementation of the plan, and how the communication will be built for the internal and external stakeholders (Quarantelli, 1988). Constant follow-up and on the plan should be implemented which is closely monitored (McConnell & Drennan, 2006). The continual improvement of the framework refers to the constant improvement in the business process by the risk management process, the adjustments and changes will again lead to the development of the framework. The implementation of the framework leads toward the process of the risk management which is discussed in the next section.

Risk Management Process for Organisations Response

Establishing Context

The goal of the framework, meaning, and criteria are to tailor the method of management, to make accurate risk appraisal feasible and to provide adequate therapy. The nature, purpose & parameters of the method must be specified and the external and internal objectives must be understood. The scope should be clearly defined by the organisation, the process of risk management should take account of the perception of the external and internal context in which the company works, and represent the unique nature of the operation to be considered by the risk management process. It should also set the risk criteria (AS/NZS, 2010).

Risk Assessment

Risk assessment, based on information and perspectives from other parties, will be carried out routinely, in an iterative and coordinated manner. It should use the best information available and, if necessary, additional enquiries (ISO, 2018).