12th September 2002

Review of Managing Risk

The following is a condensed extract from a review by Professor Denis Smith, Centre for Risk and Crisis Management, University of Sheffield, of Managing Risk: Critical Issues for Survival and Success into the 21st Century (ISBN 1-86152-167-7) by Alan Waring and Ian Glendon, published in the Journal of Risk Research.

"The academic market seems to be flooded with books that purport to deal with risk management in its entirety. Many of these, however, choose to follow a narrow disciplinary path or deal with very specific aspects of what is a broad field of theory and practice. It is refreshing, therefore, when a book delivers what it sets out to do.

The approach and analysis adopted by the authors is firmly grounded in management processes and is generally robust. At almost 500 pages, the book is a rich source of material and provides an excellent set of cases. The holistic approach to risk management adopted within the book is a major strength of the text, as is the view that risk is essentially perceptual. The chapter on systems thinking is a useful introduction to any book on risk management as the soft systems methodology is particularly well suited to complex, ill-defined problems. The discussion of the cultural and psychological aspects of risk management adds a considerable strength to the text.

This is an excellent overview of the literature on risk management which is well written and draws upon the authors’ considerable experience in the area. The combination of a critical approach to practice and theory marks the book out as one that should have wide appeal."

Journal of Risk Research 4 (1), 103-107 (2001), Taylor & Francis www.tandf.co.uk/journals

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