A discipline for dealing with uncertainty

摘要

Over the past eight years I've commented frequently on the development of "standards" for application to the discipline of risk management. It all started with the Australian/New Zealand Risk Management Standard, AS/NZS 4360, published in November 1995 and revised in 1999. Standards organisations in Canada, UK and Japan followed with their own versions and then ISO (International Organization for Standardization) published a glossary of risk management terms in 2001. The Aussies and Kiwis have just finished their latest modification and they've done a superb job again! AS/NZS 4360:2004 was and still remains the clearest and most concise guideline yet published. Its text, only 28 pages, is a model of brevity. It is expressed in simple and basic English, free from business jargon. Because its approach is generic, it applies to all forms of organisations. AS/NZS 4360:2004 will become a handy, notated and dog-eared reference on the desk of anyone who practices this discipline. Furthermore, as the Standard is generic and requires adaptation to a specific organisation, it avoids the complaint that Standards are "dangerous" because they can stimulate unneeded legislation and regulations. True, risk management is still evolving, but these guidelines, already in their third evolution, help any organisation to begin and modify the process.