Research Proposal

Student Name: Panchali Nandy

 Working Title
Operational Risk Mitigation in contemporary event execution.

 Aim of the Study

The author through the course of research aims to focus on pertinence of contemporary events
in alleviating operational risks and reinforcing better hotel operation performance in hospitality
sector.

 Rationale and Background for the study

Since ages events have been closely associated with the culture of food and beverage to unveil
the culture and palate in the society. Through the prominent growth since the pre-historic times
food and beverage industry has successfully secured place in the market and has been
promoting its awareness via events. Operational risks are no stranger to event and hospitality
industry keeping in mind crisis can occur amidst any circumstance creating hindrance at core
level of the event. Henceforth assessing operational risks does not only eliminate the
catastrophe of events but also composes the organizers to have a better control over the
implementation. Aiming at higher possibilities of risk hazards related to the industry it is often
observed that every renowned brand in the market has a visionary aspiration and one mistake
can cost those fortunes. Therefore in today’s hospitality sector risk mitigation has become an
important pillar in shaping better organisation standards and security. Risk is any genre of
hazard, and therefore it comes quintessentially significant to assess them in events so that risk
mitigation can be evaluated and avoided that results from such incidents (Clow & Baack,
2012). While risk management is essential, responsibility must not be underestimated. This is
because the guests typically come from all parts of the world and it is critical that the
management host the event with utmost importance since reputation of the organizers remains
at stake.
Every event organized is unique in its own way and therefore if something new is put on the
plate, the success rate and the failure rate is equally proportional depending on how safely the
mitigation process is carried out.
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The overall objective of laying out different milestones for smooth event execution is because
it not only ensures professional decorum but also promotes value building image of the
particular event in long run. Examples of Marlborough Wine and Food Festival, Cape Town
Good Food and Wine show and Canmore Food and Wine festival are few renowned events in
the domain of Hospitality sector that attracts huge tourists all over the world. They have
successfully accomplished to engrave their name on the minds of people because of their
successful attempts to mitigate operational risks in every domain of their service through
assessing the possibility of risks, resource balance, identifying sources of hazards and taking
control of the situation. Along with successful accomplishments there are few challenges that
caused hindrance during event execution like insufficient capital, increased cost and poor time
management, damage to physical asset, seasonality issues and opportunity and biosecurity
costs that needs to assess correctly in the contemporary events.

 Outlines of Theories underpinning the Research

Risk mitigation has played an important role in every direction and course of event and
hospitality service execution making it an essential step towards successful business prosperity.
Over the years researchers and scholars have put forward many such theories, concepts and
models to establish a strong base for events and hospitality sector in general. Through this
research, the author aims to display relevance of different risk mitigation theories and concepts
that acts as a strong base for smooth event execution in contemporary hospitality sector. These
ideas have successfully diminished the probability of operational hazards when applied
correctly. The following are few theories and concepts reviewed below:
1. Expected Utility Theory: this theory was first mentioned by Daniel Bernoulli’s research in
1738 St. Petersburg Paradox and later progressed by Leonard Jimmie Savage and Frank
Ramsey. The theory suggested an axiomatic theory of choice that recommends rational options
for an individual and what would fairly give an advantage during risky situation based on the
individual’s tolerance for risk and personal preference. This theory has given fair chances to
event hosting companies and hospitality sector in identifying risks hazards and taking measures
for improvement.
2. Modern Portfolio Theory: this theory was proposed by economist Harry Markowitz. This
suggested the risk of considering two given situation that offers same profit in return but
considering risk averse, companies prefer choosing the less risky one so that they have better

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reward expectation. The portfolio strategy is based on the answer to a goal-oriented feature
aimed at reducing portfolio costs or risk subject to various restrictions, taking into account the
expense or return on investment (deLlano-Paz, Calvo-Silvosa, Antelo, & Soares, 2017).
Companies have curated their own strategies to reduce or control risk through this theory
3. Transference Strategy: This technique is intended to pass to another group the
responsibility of the risk effect. This may involve giving up influence, but the organisation is
not responsible when anything goes wrong. If the product is affiliated with your company, the
strategy cannot secure your brand name yet it helps companies to handle problems better in
hands of those in control.
4. Precautionary Principle: The precautionary principle makes it possible for events industry
to take action when scientific proof of a threat to human or food safety is unclear and there is
considerable stake. It originated during the seventies as a strategy for industries to have an
alternative plan for precautionary measures if any risks arises. To some it's a health and
environmental conservation strategy.
Lastly after taking into account the following theories and strategy the author develops two
important aspects of change and responsiveness that needs to be acquired into future event
execution for better risk mitigation and sustainable hospitality future.

 Statement of Objectives
1. To assess the relevant risk mitigation in context of contemporary event execution during
food and wine festivals globally.
2. To accomplish a superior understanding of effective risk management hazards for any
competitive advantage in the hospitality domain in the current situation.
3. To maintain consistency in improving capabilities and responding effectively to low
profitability and catastrophic risks to ensure sustainability of events in long run.

 Research Question
How well are operational risks mitigated in the execution of contemporary events?

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  Proposed Methodology
The research proposed will be an amalgamation of approved and authorized secondary data to
support any argument in due course. Articles have been derived from journals such as Journal
of Risk Research, Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism themes, Journal of Tourism and
Hospitality Research, Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews and Journal of
Operations Research along with online sources such as Riverlogic Blog, Hospitality Net,
Springer Link and Taylor and Francis online library to have a better understanding of risk
management hazards and establish successful strategies to alleviate threats. The theories by the
authors like Daniel Bernoulli and Harry Markowitz puts forward on how human psychology
plays an important role towards assessment of any threat, avoiding the situation and taking
possible risks which creates a basis for the author to fabricate an argument for successful risk
mitigation with contemporary resolutions.
Reliability of the present use of operational strategies towards successful events will be derived
from case studies of Food and Wine festivals that is being conducted every year and top class
celebrity chefs from around the world to showcase their variety of culinary expertise and how
risk mitigation strategies are implied for smooth operation.

 Potential Ethical Issues

The author ensures full credibility and originality of the proposal and the advanced research
paper. The author takes responsibility in assuring that the thoughts and interpretations in the
paper are original work of the designated and other works of scholars and researchers have not
been paraphrased or copied. The approach through secondary data has been used all throughout
the research and to validate all possible spectrum of study has been highlighted to make the
paper justified. The author also states that no academic offense has been carried out during the
research for this paper.

 Relevance to Final Year Work and Pathway Title

This paper on Operational Risk Mitigation in Event Execution contributes to Hotel Operations
Management which is an active study module for 3rd year research development. The research
is embedded through various theories and concepts of Risk assessment mitigation that has been
shaping our contemporary hospitality and event culture through consistent efforts of service.

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  References

1. Clow, K. E., & Baack, D. (2012, March). Cases in Marketing Management. Retrieved
from https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/cases-in-marketing-management/book235886
2. deLlano-Paz, F., Calvo-Silvosa, A., Antelo, S. I., & Soares, I. (2017, April 19). Energy
Planning and modern portfolio theory: A review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy
Reviews, 77, 636-651. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.04.045

 Bibliography

1. Badolati, E., & Ciconne, S. (2017, January 4). On Cramér's First Contributions to
Ruin Theory. North American Acturial Journal, 21(2), 193-203. doi:https://doi-
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2. Iglehart, D. L. (1969). Diffusion Approximations in Collective Risk Theory. Journal
of Effective probalibility, 6(2), 285-292. doi:https://doi-
org.libaccess.hud.ac.uk/10.2307/3211999
3. Jung, j. (2011). A note on a classical result in the collective risk theory. Scandanavian
Actuarial Journal, 1973(1), 61. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/03461238.1973.10414972
4. Risk Management Principles and Methods- Reviews and Discussion. (2007). Springer
Series in Reliability Engineering. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84628-653-7_2
5. Vij, M. (2019). The emerging importance of risk management and enterprise risk
management strategies in the Indian hospitality industry Senior managements’
perspective. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, 11(4), 392-403.
doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/WHATT-04-2019-0023

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