Customer Reviews

Operational Risk Management: A Case Study Approach to Effective Planning and Response

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Abkowitz has compiled an impressive number of high profile case studies to illustrate our need to pay attention to the risks we have in our business operations, and for that matter, our personal lives. But unlike the multiple points of view found in the Harvard Business Review case studies, Abkowitz provides definitive analysis of "what went wrong" and allows us to see clearly what we might do in our own organizations to minimize operational risk.

This excellent book is broken into Four Parts, comprising several chapters each. Those parts are; Man Made Accidents, Terrorist Acts, Natural Disasters, and Success Stories. Then the final chapter brings things together in "Lessons Learned," while the epilogue gives us some ideas on where we might go from here.

Abkowitz notes in chapter one that there are 10 basic risk factors he considered: Design and construction flaws, Deferred maintenance, Economic pressure, Schedule constraints, Inadequate training, Not following procedures, Lack of planning and preparedness, Communication failure, Arrogance, and Stifling political agendas. Based on these, he analyzed many major disasters, summarized the results and gleaned some interesting lessons from the analysis.

There were 12 "Lessons Learned" presented based on the 10 risk factors spelled out in chapter one. The 12 lessons are:

1. Risk factors work together to generate an event with disastrous consequences
2. Communication failure is a risk factor in every disaster, irrespective of whether the event is caused by accident, intentional act, or nature
3. Take planning and preparedness seriously; it should never be short-changed
4. Economic pressure is a chronic problem that appears as a risk factor in most man-made accidents and natural disasters and in some intentional acts
5. Not following procedures is a significant problem in man-made accidents, and is also present in some natural disasters and intentional acts
6. Design and construction flaws are the bane of man-made accidents
7. Co not underestimate the significance of political agendas in creating high-risk situations
8. Arrogance among individuals and organizations is perhaps a far more significant risk factor than previously imagined
9. The lack of uniform safety standards across different nations creates an uneven risk management playing field, conditions ripe for exploitation
10. Regardless of how well risks are being addressed, "luck" can change your fortunes one way or another
11. It usually takes a disastrous event to convince people that something needs to be done
12. Risk cannot be entirely avoided; nothing can be designed or built to perfection, nor last forever

This book will be invaluable for those times when I'm searching for examples of why our organization needs to make a change. It should serve as a warning to all our leadership in private and public organizations that we must pay attention to and encourage proper planning and expenditures to mitigate our organizational risk.

Even though I purchsed this as a course requirement for my Master's program, I read this book in a day. The case studies are very interesting, and are incidents most of us remember.

Dr. Abkowitz has delivered a unique and fascinating read that combines case studies of what went wrong, what went right, and lessons learned. He analyzes three classifications of case studies in his book: man-made accidents, terrorist acts, and natural disasters. Each case is structured to give a detailed yet concise description of what happened, an examination of what went wrong, actions taken following the event, and the likelihood of a similar event occurring again. After reading a few cases, the reader begins to notice risk factor similarities and differences between cases. Often times you will find yourself thinking 'wow, I did not realize how many little things went wrong along the way leading up to the big event.' The success story case studies at the end of the book give many examples of how employing risk mitigation techniques in practice can pick up the numerous 'red flags' that usually precede disaster. It shouldn't always take a disaster to spark action.

ON POINT! Dr. Abkowitz manages to engage the reader by using real-world examples and insightful analysis while providing an excellent read. This is a MUST for all who work in the field of risk/environmental management and a DEFINITE READ for anyone interested in obatining a "behind the scenes" look at some of the most horrific disasters of our time. Most importantly this book offers some valuable lessons in critical thinking that will assist anyone who must plan to prevent or respond to such risks in the future.

Mark Abkowitz has written a well researched and pertinent book analyzing and assessing different kinds of disasters: man made, natural, and terrorist. He has done an amazing job pinpointing areas that can be changed, what probably can't change and what we as citizens can do to incorporate these ideas into more safety for our country, our community and our planet.

I receommend this book to all who care about the next disaster and how it can be averted.

Mark Abkowitz has produced a truly readable and entertaining guidebook to risk management. By simplifying complex case studies down into causal event chains; Abkowitz has demonstrated the repetitive occurrance of 10 basic risk factors. Knowledge of these 10 basic factors is an excellent starting point for customizing and assessing ones own risk management program. I further would like to say this book is not just for risk managers but for anyone who enjoys history or is unsatisfied with the mass media's shallow sensational coverage of most catostrophic events. Abkowitz ends this story with a useful summary of lessons learned and an epilogue with a punchline point that should seem obvious after reading the book; but somehow has not been adopted by our federal, state, and local governments on any large scale.

Operational risk management follows a case study approach to effective planning and response. The case studies have been categorized into (1) man-made accidents, (2) natural disasters, and (3) terrorist acts. This book is driven by the idea that identifying and learning from mistakes in the past can help minimize or even prevent losses in the future. A couple of risk management success stories (United Flight 232 and Denali Quake- Alaskan Pipeline) are also presented.

The case studies are selected from different industries and are analyzed in a clear and concise way. Several risk factors are identified for each case study and the key lessons are summarized. This book is an excellent resource for both common people and risk managers. The book identifies risks, improves risk perception, and provides steps for mitigating risks faced by society today.

This book looks at 17 different case studies arranged into three groups man made (Chernobyl), terrorists acts (USS Cole), and natural disasters (Hurricane Katrina). The book also includes two success stories United Flight 232 and Denali Quake (Alaskan Pipeline). A range of case studies was selected for review and not limited to a single industry. Each case study consists of a clear and concise review of the incident then discusses which of the 10 identified risk factors (e.g. design flaws,political agenda) were present. The reviews of the incidents were some of the best I have read. Risk is unavoidable, but hopefully this book will help us to learn from our past and prevent future disasters with better insights as to what factors combine to create a catastrophe.

Dr. Abkowitz has put together a fascinating and compelling book that explains why some of the world's worst disasters have occurred. He does an excellent job of pulling the reader in with a detailed narrative of what happened and then giving a sensible, easy-to-follow understanding of why the event or disaster happened and how it could've been prevented. Some of my favorite chapters included the Bhopal accident, Hurricane Katrina and the United Airlines success story. Overall, it's clear that many of these events could've been managed much better with proper planning, communication, funding and less arrogance on the parts of people in command. A great read and extremely informative.