Module ASB-3204:
Corporate Risk Management

Module Facts

Run by Bangor Business School

10 Credits or 5 ECTS Credits

Semester 1

Organiser: Dr David Ayling

Overall aims and purpose

To examine the identification, measurement, control and financing of pure risks in business organisations.

Course content

The module includes

The nature of risk management (Traditional vs. Enterprise risk management); Risk identification (Techniques for identifying 'what could go wrong'); The firm's loss exposures (Asset, Personnel, Liability and Consequential loss risks); Risk measurement and probability distributions (Numerical techniques for measuring risks); Risk control tools (Risk Avoidance, Separation, Combination,Transfer and Loss Control); Risk financing (Techniques for retaining and transferring risk financing); Insurance and the alternatives (Optimum use of insurance in relation to other risk management tools); Legal aspects of insurance and insurance contracts (Laws relating to Insurance suppliers and purchasers); Dealing with insurers (Good practice for insurance purchasers when arranging cover).

Assessment Criteria

C- to C+

C- to C+ (50-59%): Much of the relevant information and skills mostly accurately deployed. Adequate grasp of theoretical/conceptual/practical elements. Fair integration of theory/practice/information in the pursuit of the assessed work's objectives. Some evidence of the use of creative and reflective skills.

threshold

D- to D+ (40-49%): No major omissions or inaccuracies in the deployment of information/skills. Some grasp of theoretical/conceptual/practical elements. Integration of theory/practice/information present intermittently in pursuit of the assessed work's objectives.

good

B- to B+ (60-69%): Very good performance Most of the relevant information accurately deployed. Good grasp of theoretical/conceptual/practical elements. Good integration of theory/practice/information in pursuit of the assessed work's objectives. Evidence of the use of creative and reflective skills.

excellent

A- to A+ (70%+): Outstanding Performance. The relevant information accurately deployed. Excellent grasp of theoretical/conceptual/practice elements. Good integration of theory/practice/information in pursuit of the assessed work's objectives. Strong evidence of the use of creative and reflective skills.

Learning outcomes

  1. Evaluate the effectiveness of alternative risk management techniques in order to create an optimal risk anagement strategy.

  2. Understand risk control and risk financing techniques.

  3. Analyse and evaluate uses and limitations of probability concepts and statistics for making risk management decisions.

  4. Evaluate the uses and limitations of insurance as a risk management device.

  5. Critically evaluate the nature and effectiveness of alternative risk management strategies.

  6. Critically evaluate different methods for dealing with pure risk effectively.

Assessment Methods

Type Name Description Weight
ESSAY Essay

Write an essay chosen from a list of topics.

 25
EXAM Formal Examination

A formal 1.5 hour exam in which students answer any two questions from five.

 75

Teaching and Learning Strategy

Hours
Lecture

One 2-hour lecture per week. Formal lecture series supported by documents available on Blackboard.

 20
Private study

Self-study based on readings and reflection.

 80

Transferable skills

  • Literacy - Proficiency in reading and writing through a variety of media
  • Numeracy - Proficiency in using numbers at appropriate levels of accuracy
  • Self-Management - Able to work unsupervised in an efficient, punctual and structured manner. To examine the outcomes of tasks and events, and judge levels of quality and importance
  • Exploring - Able to investigate, research and consider alternatives
  • Information retrieval - Able to access different and multiple sources of information
  • Critical analysis & Problem Solving - Able to deconstruct and analyse problems or complex situations. To find solutions to problems through analyses and exploration of all possibilities using appropriate methods, rescources and creativity.
  • Argument - Able to put forward, debate and justify an opinion or a course of action, with an individual or in a wider group setting

Subject specific skills

  • Abstraction. From the study of economic principles and models, students see how one can abstract the essential features of complex systems and provide a useable framework for evaluation and assessment of the effects of policy or other exogenous events. Through this, the typical student will acquire proficiency in how to simplify while still retaining relevance. This is an approach that they can then apply in other contexts, thereby becoming more effective problem-solvers and decision-makers.
  • Framing. Through the study of economics, a student should learn how to decide what should be taken as given or fixed for the purposes of setting up and solving a problem, i.e. what the important 'parameters' are in constraining the solution to the problem. Learning to think about how and why these parameters might change encourages a student to place the economic problem in its broader social and political context. This 'framing' skill is important in determining the decision-maker's ability to implement the solutions to problems.
  • An understanding of the financing arrangements and governance structures of business entities, and an appreciation of how theory and evidence can be combined to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of such arrangements (e.g. decisions as to sources of finance and financial structure; the pricing of corporate securities; the market for corporate control; corporate governance structures and mechanisms; financial planning and international dimensions of finance).
  • Problem solving and critical analysis: analysing facts and circumstances to determine the cause of a problem and identifying and selecting appropriate solutions.
  • Numeracy: the use of quantitative skills to manipulate data, evaluate, estimate and model business problems, functions and phenomena.
  • Articulating and effectively explaining information.
  • Conceptual and critical thinking, analysis, synthesis and evaluation.
  • Self-management: a readiness to accept responsibility and flexibility, to be resilient, self-starting and appropriately assertive, to plan, organise and manage time.

Resources

Courses including this module

Compulsory in courses:

Optional in courses: