Introduction
The present report describes a game whose didactic purpose is to demonstrate how to complete a project within a given time frame while implementing key risk management tools. Partaking in this game entails analyzing the risks and conflicts that have occurred during the project. Besides, the game compels players to come up with reasonable and creative solutions. Lastly, players draw conclusions with regards to the impact of risk management factors on the success of the project.
The Purpose of Risk Management
The logical question arises as to what the purpose and the function of risk management are. Evidently, they need to be clearly defined in the context of this report. in general, managing risk means identifying risks followed by locating, adjusting and optimizing various risk management technologies. Therefore, one may say that risk management both deals with the consequences of unfortunate events and minimizes the losses caused by them. Secondly, it is worth noting that risk management largely relies on communication between managers, shareholders and village chief. Maintaining excellent communication serves several purposes:
- increasing the efficiency and assuring the quality of the project;
- keeping the cost of input at the minimum;
- reducing the loss of materials;
- make the decision-making of the project more rigorous and robust: in essence, to make it more standardized, evidence-based and data-driven.
Lastly, risk management allows managers to analyze different types of risks: project time, economic risk, natural environment, economic risks, and others. When all the aforementioned purposes are met, the project progresses smoothly and yields the desired results.
Risk Management Analysis Tools
For this paper, the following three risk management analysis tools have been employed: Risk Probability & Impact Assessment, Risk Urgency Assessment and Risk Categorization. From the standpoint of the first tool, it becomes possible to assess the probability of both desired (opportunities) and undesired (risks) events. This, in turn, allows managers to assess the impact of both types of events happening.
In the context of this game, the project manager is able to use both objective and subjective probability estimation methods to pinpoint the risk factors that may occur during the project realization. The project manager can gain meaningful insights by communicating with other managers and local people. Besides, what might also be helpful is the data regarding similar events and personal experience.
Secondly, it is necessary to consider time urgency, therefore, it is only reasonable to apply the risk management method of risk urgency assessment. In this case, the effectiveness of risk management strategy can be comprehensively evaluated given all the time limitations. The factors that are taken into account at that are the possibility and impact of risk occurrence, the difficulty of risk management or the requirements of stakeholders. For this particular project, one particularity that cannot go unaddressed is the influence of bad environment. For instance, the project manager and the team need to provide a quick response to the requirements of the local residents’ living infrastructure to avert more risks.
Lastly, risk categorization pulls the entire risk management strategy together by helping to classify the various types of risks. Some examples of risk types include natural risks, social risks, economic risks, political risks and technical risks. For this game, the risk type that needs consideration is the weather (a natural risk): the poor natural environment can damage the shelter. As for other types, economically, it is quite risky to buy raw materials; moreover, high-quality resources can only be provided within the limited budget. The political risk in this game is the visa processing time. Lastly, the technical risks include the realization of the project plan as well as personnel arrangement.
Aspects of Leadership
This game includes three different leaders: Jeff Jackson, Sally Lawson and Alessandro Bello. Jeff Jackson, the founder and CEO of the company, aims at successfully completing the project within six weeks while sticking to the specified budget. According to Jackson, the project does not only improve refugees’ lives but also allows the investment companies to increase their leverage. Sally Lawson, one of the company’s fund donors, ensures the realization of the project and its actual positive effect on refugees. Alessandro Bello, the local head of the village, hopes that local workers will get remuneration for their manual labor and selling blankets.
The needs and motivations of the key leadership figures show that the project’s main priorities are time, quality and cost. These three different aspects do not exist independently from each other: they also interact and impose constraints onto each other. Bello’s and Lawson’s needs are different from Jackson’s mainly financial interests. However, as the project manager, Jackson is likely to accept some extra expenses. For example, hiring local workers and providing them with healthcare is costly. Yet, if this option is not the one chosen, the timeline of the project completion becomes blurry, and the project manager creates an additional risk.