RISK PERSPECTIVES

A Systematic Classification

Tony Ridley MSc CSyP CAS FSyl

Risk, Security, Safety, Resilience & Management Sciences (Applied) www.risk-management.au
Risk and how it is perceived is unevenly
distributed across communities,
professions and disciplines. Moreover,
risk is not only socially constructed but
also socially influenced, including
amplification.

As a result, a broad classification of

what risk means to various stakeholders
is required as a basic foundational
understanding.

In other words, if you don't have a sense

or view of how risk may vary across
individuals and groups, you really don't
have an adequate understanding of risk
within organisations or society.
Tony Ridley MSc CSyP CAS FSyl
Risk, Security, Safety, Resilience & Management Sciences (Applied) www.risk-management.au
In particular, insurance, health,
environmental protection, safety
engineering, decision-making (psychology
and economics) and policy
makers/governments all have varying
perspectives and competing priorities
when it comes to the management,
messaging and understanding of risk.
Moreover, this varies yet again from
geography-to-geography and culture-to-
culture.

No only does risk vary across cohorts but

it is also stratified from social intent,
methodologies, base units and what might
be considered as 'the basic problem area'.

Tony Ridley MSc CSyP CAS FSyl

Risk, Security, Safety, Resilience & Management Sciences (Applied) www.risk-management.au
In short, the meaning, practice and application of
matters related to risk are inconsistent and required
basic scaffolding for comparison and
communication across groups.

Tony Ridley MSc CSyP CAS FSyl

Risk, Security, Safety, Resilience & Management Sciences (Applied) www.risk-management.au
A lack of placement on any risk
classification or inadequate consideration
of risk beyond one's understanding and
practices is inherently limited and
concerningly incomplete.

Especially where risk is present in complex,

hybrid environments involving economics,
health, safety, security and society.

Of particular note are the dominant risk

methods in various professions and
disciplines. These practices, combined with
base units, may be incompatible or yield
differing results and measurements the
require interpretation, integration and
aggregation.

Tony Ridley MSc CSyP CAS FSyl

Risk, Security, Safety, Resilience & Management Sciences (Applied) www.risk-management.au
In short, not only is it a matter
of comparing 'apples and
oranges' but what is an entire
ecosystem of fruits,
vegetables and meats.

That is, risk perspective

sections and segmentations
are not organically nor
naturally similar or even
related.

Tony Ridley MSc CSyP CAS FSyl

Risk, Security, Safety, Resilience & Management Sciences (Applied) www.risk-management.au
In short, risk is perceived differently by
various professions, practitioners and
disciplines, in addition to society and
governments. As a result, matters
related to risk always require broader
consideration as to its specific location
within and across professions or
communities. Moreover, lack of
consideration or awareness of risk as a
complex, contested and inconsistent
expression results in narrow risk
narratives ill-suited for the real world and
complex, networked world we all live in.
The accompanying taxonomy and
typology offers a start point for
awareness, comparison and analysis.

Tony Ridley MSc CSyP CAS FSyl

Risk, Security, Safety, Resilience & Management Sciences (Applied) www.risk-management.au
Enterprise Security & Risk Management

Practical Questions:

Which 'perspective' categorisation do you

reside, represent and 'practice' when it comes
to risk management?

Are you able to consider the full spectrum of

risk perspectives during consideration, analysis
and management?

Do you know, employ or consider methods

from each and everyone one of these risk
perspectives?

Tony Ridley MSc CSyP CAS FSyl

Risk, Security, Safety, Resilience & Management Sciences (Applied) www.risk-management.au