Exploring how to manage the risk of Olympic organisation
Southampton risk analysis expert Dr Will Jennings has recently had an opinion piece published in the prestigious Harvard Business Review (HBR).
Dr Will Jennings is a Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Southampton and a Research Associate at the Centre for Analysis of Risk and Regulation at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
He specialises in researching risk and mega events and has recently published a book Olympic Risks.
His recent publication in the HBR focuses on the potential risks involved in organising and running a huge event such as the London 2012 Olympics.
In it he outlines how the organisers were extensively prepared for every eventually including a terrorist incident, a breakdown of the London rail system, power blackouts, volcanic ash coulds, flooding and an outbreak of an infectious disease.
“Risk management is now at the heart of the governance model for the Olympic Games and the Olympic movement,” he said.
“This is not only because of their growing scale and complexity but also the time horizon involved, which can be up to 20 years from the genesis of a host city’s bid to the conclusion of the actual event.”
In his article he explains how managing risk is a mix of preventing risks that can be reasonably controlled and recognising and preparing for ones that can’t be prevented.
To read his full article go to the Harvard Business Review blog here