THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER SCHOOL OF MECHANICAL, AEROPSACE AND CIVIL ENGINEERING MACE60085/40031 RISK MANAGEMENT COURSEWORK TASK 2 BRIEF

Risk Management: Corporate Perspectives in light of the global economic downturn

The global economy is currently facing conditions that are unprecedented. World leaders met in London1 (April 2009) to discuss and agree upon a co-ordinated set of actions to stimulate growth throughout the world. Whilst risky lending and injudicious fiscal management in some of the worlds leading financial organisations has contributed, in part, to the current situation, the effect on engineering, construction and the manufacturing sectors has been significant. Many countries are currently experiencing low (and in some cases negative) growth; this will require informed and strategic decision-making within corporate bodies to ensure that their organisations able to adapt and respond to the current market and remain sustainable in the long term. It is clear that effective risk management will form a vital aspect of this process. In no greater than 2000 words, you are to present a report entitled: Corporate risk management in the global economic downturn: an organisational case study. You are required to select an industry related to your degree pathway (i.e. MEng Aerospace students should select the aerospace industry; MoP Construction Management should similarly examine the construction sector). In the case of students registered on the Management of Projects pathway, you have the option to select an industry sector of your choice.

NOTES FOR STUDENTS

This report is structured in such a way that you are afforded a wide scope of potential avenues to explore RM issues in context of the current economic conditions. You may wish to consider the effects of the current economy on employment, research and development, profitability or any other aspects relevant to corporate bodies or indeed government agencies. You may also wish to take a view from a country of your choice rather than the UK. Your report would benefit from some examination of the general issues that caused the current global economic conditions, this is well documented although try to use reliable sources of information and data rather than headline-grabbing articles in certain newspapers! It will be relevant to discuss the issues associated with risk management and you may include examples of how risk management tools and techniques are currently being implemented within corporate organisations to respond to the threats and opportunities. If you are able to
1

The meeting was held under the auspices of The Group of Twenty (G-20) Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, which was established in 1999 to bring together systemically important industrialized and developing economies to discuss key issues in the global economy (www.g20.org)

draw on specific examples from corporate organisation etc., this will help to illustrate your report. As part of this report, you should select an organisation (ideally one with a range of public information available on corporate risk management policy) to illustrate examples of RM strategy implementation. Try and integrate your understanding of the concepts discussed during the course so far, including complexity and enterprise risk management where appropriate. Use the wide range of e-resources available to you in the John Rylands Library

Submission Information Your coursework must be submitted in electronic format to Blackboard ONLY. You are not required to produce a hard copy version. Your work will automatically be uploaded via TurnitinUK, the University of Manchester plagiarism detection system. Further information on this can be found at http://www.campus.manchester.ac.uk/elearning/eassessment/plagiarism/#tiibbaccess Feedback will be provided electronically within 2-3 weeks of the submission date The coursework is to be submitted on or before Friday 27th April 2012-23.59GMT Late submission will attract a zero mark

Queries? Please post queries to the discussion board; it would be appreciated if you could refrain from sending emails to my personal account unless the content is of a confidential nature.

Dr R J Kirkham University of Manchester March 2012