Averting Disaster Before It Strikes

Averting Disaster Before It Strikes PDF Author: Dmitry Chernov
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3031307720
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 390

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Book Description
Some of the major industrial disasters could have been prevented. When the facts of what happened are established, their stories share a common thread: before things spiralled out of control, there were workers at the affected sites who knew that the situation was dangerous, and could become catastrophic unless immediate action was taken. But tragically, nobody dared to tell the decision-makers who could have authorized that action. With no idea of the risks they were taking, the people in charge continued as normal... and disaster struck. Because vital information about risks could not flow freely from the shop floor to the director’s office, the crucial decisions were not made in time. This observation has been documented in the following major technological accidents: Challenger space shuttle explosion (USA, 1986); Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster (USSR, 1986); Deepwater Horizon oil spill (USA, 2010); Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant disaster (Japan, 2011); and numerous other industrial disasters. After accidents like these, losses and costs for dealing with the consequences are often hundreds — or even thousands — of times greater than the finances that would have been required to deal with the risks when they were first recognized. This handbook is about how to transform the way large critical infrastructure companies communicate about safety and technological risks. It aims to support senior managers to get the information they need from their subordinates concerning the risks they are facing, in order to prevent accidents before it is too late. The recommendations in this handbook are based on interviews with 100 executives at various levels, working in 65 critical infrastructure companies around the world, in power, oil and gas, metals, chemicals and petrochemicals, mining and other industries. The recommendations of these leaders were also tested in the pilot project, in an industrial company which is the world leader in its sector. More than 400 managers at various levels of the corporate hierarchy, and employees at several of the company’s industrial plants, took part in the project. This open access handbook is written for the owners, senior managers, and industrial safety directors of critical infrastructure companies.

Averting Disaster Before It Strikes

Averting Disaster Before It Strikes PDF Author: Dmitry Chernov
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3031307720
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 390

Get Book

Book Description
Some of the major industrial disasters could have been prevented. When the facts of what happened are established, their stories share a common thread: before things spiralled out of control, there were workers at the affected sites who knew that the situation was dangerous, and could become catastrophic unless immediate action was taken. But tragically, nobody dared to tell the decision-makers who could have authorized that action. With no idea of the risks they were taking, the people in charge continued as normal... and disaster struck. Because vital information about risks could not flow freely from the shop floor to the director’s office, the crucial decisions were not made in time. This observation has been documented in the following major technological accidents: Challenger space shuttle explosion (USA, 1986); Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster (USSR, 1986); Deepwater Horizon oil spill (USA, 2010); Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant disaster (Japan, 2011); and numerous other industrial disasters. After accidents like these, losses and costs for dealing with the consequences are often hundreds — or even thousands — of times greater than the finances that would have been required to deal with the risks when they were first recognized. This handbook is about how to transform the way large critical infrastructure companies communicate about safety and technological risks. It aims to support senior managers to get the information they need from their subordinates concerning the risks they are facing, in order to prevent accidents before it is too late. The recommendations in this handbook are based on interviews with 100 executives at various levels, working in 65 critical infrastructure companies around the world, in power, oil and gas, metals, chemicals and petrochemicals, mining and other industries. The recommendations of these leaders were also tested in the pilot project, in an industrial company which is the world leader in its sector. More than 400 managers at various levels of the corporate hierarchy, and employees at several of the company’s industrial plants, took part in the project. This open access handbook is written for the owners, senior managers, and industrial safety directors of critical infrastructure companies.

Don't Tell the Boss!

Don't Tell the Boss! PDF Author: Dmitry Chernov
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3031052064
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 493

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Book Description
After a major disaster, when investigators are piecing together the story of what happened, a striking fact often emerges: before disaster struck, some people in the organization involved were aware of dangerous conditions that had the potential to escalate to a critical level. But for a variety of reasons, this crucial information did not reach decision-makers. So, the organization moved ever closer to catastrophe, effectively unaware of the possible threat—despite the fact that some of its employees could see it coming. What is the problem with communication about risk in an organization, and why does this problem exist? What stops people in organizations or project teams from freely reporting and discussing critical risks? This book seeks to answer these questions, starting from a deep analysis of 20 disasters where the concealment of risks played a major part. These case studies are drawn from around the world and span a range of industries: civil nuclear power, coal, oil and gas production, hydropower energy, metals and mining, space exploration, transport, finance, retail manufacturing and even the response of governments to wars, famines and epidemics. Together, case studies give an insight into why people hesitate to report risks—and even when they do, why their superiors often prefer to ignore the news. The book reviews existing research on the challenges of voice and silence in organizations. This helps to explain more generally why people dread passing on bad news to others—and why in the workplace they prefer to keep quiet about unpleasant facts or potential risks when they are talking to superiors and colleagues. The discussion section of the book includes important examples of concealment within the Chinese state hierarchy as well as by leading epidemiologists and governments in the West during the novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan in 2019-2020. The full picture of the very early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic remains unclear, and further research is obviously needed to better understand what motivated some municipal, provincial and national officials in China as well as Western counterparts to obfuscate facts in their internal communications about many issues associated with the outbreak.

When Disaster Strikes

When Disaster Strikes PDF Author: Various
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780761331100
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


Back to the Drawing Board

Back to the Drawing Board PDF Author: Colin B. Carter
Publisher: Harvard Business Press
ISBN: 1578517761
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
Business scandals from Enron to WorldCom have escalated concerns about corporate governance into a full-blown crisis. Institutional investors and legislators have dominated the debate and enacted important changes in corporate accounting and other areas. But Colin B. Carter and Jay W. Lorsch say that we must now focus on the performance of corporate boards. This timely book argues that boards are being pressed to perform unrealistic duties given their traditional structure, processes, and membership. Carter and Lorsch propose a strategic redesign of boards--making them better attuned to their oversight, decision-making, and advisory roles--to enable directors to meet 21st century challenges successfully. Based on the authors' deep expertise and longtime experience working with boards around the world, and on a probing survey of CEOs, Carter and Lorsch help boards to develop a realistic value proposition customized to the company they serve. The authors explore the core dilemmas and responsibilities boards face and outline a framework for designing the most effective structure, makeup, size, and culture. This book provides a candid account of the current state of boards and points the way in a time of crisis and change.

Econophysics of Systemic Risk and Network Dynamics

Econophysics of Systemic Risk and Network Dynamics PDF Author: Frédéric Abergel
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 8847025532
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 295

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Book Description
The primary goal of the book is to present the ideas and research findings of active researchers such as physicists, economists, mathematicians and financial engineers working in the field of “Econophysics,” who have undertaken the task of modeling and analyzing systemic risk, network dynamics and other topics. Of primary interest in these studies is the aspect of systemic risk, which has long been identified as a potential scenario in which financial institutions trigger a dangerous contagion mechanism, spreading from the financial economy to the real economy. This type of risk, long confined to the monetary market, has spread considerably in the recent past, culminating in the subprime crisis of 2008. As such, understanding and controlling systemic risk has become an extremely important societal and economic challenge. The Econophys-Kolkata VI conference proceedings are dedicated to addressing a number of key issues involved. Several leading researchers in these fields report on their recent work and also review contemporary literature on the subject.

Corporate Debt Restructuring in Emerging Markets

Corporate Debt Restructuring in Emerging Markets PDF Author: Richard Marney
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030813061
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 422

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Book Description
Corporate debt restructurings in the emerging markets have always presented special challenges. Today, as the global economy emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic and businesses look to pick up the pieces, this is even more true. For many, the financial hangover of the lockdowns and market disruptions linger and threaten their independence, even their survival. This peril is more acute in the emerging and frontier markets. Weaker economic fundamentals and institutional resiliency often intensify the challenge to return to pre-COVID-19 operating levels and financial sustainability. In this context, borrowers invariably must address the imbalance of substantial existing debt with the “new reality” of their business operations and revenues. This book, using case studies, presents a full, detailed narrative of a fictitious troubled bank in an emerging market, with characters, dialogues, and negotiations. It also includes a series of discussion questions with suggested answers, to draw out key issues from the case. In doing so, this initial narrative offers a substantive analysis of the five main phases and principles of a restructuring: (1) pre-restructuring, (2) the decision to restructure, (3) the case set-up, (4) structuring and negotiation, and lastly (5) implementation. In each chapter, the book outlines the main elements of the phases and shows how the elements are applied in practice. The book also presents separate chapters on exogenous shocks (with a focus on the COVID-19 pandemic as an example of such shocks), macroeconomics, and legal issues present in cross-border restructurings. It will be of interest to the international professional financial and legal community, primarily junior-to mid-level financiers, business people, and lawyers.

Psychological Healing: An Islamic Thought of Intellectual Fitness

Psychological Healing: An Islamic Thought of Intellectual Fitness PDF Author: Qamrul Khanson
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1105094022
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 295

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Book Description
This book "Psychological Healing" covers twenty five chapters filled with situations where humans succumb to challenging circumstances. By following the advice, the reader would fulfill its obligation of self counseling. A self healing desired by your Lord, a living admired by your fellow humans and satisfied by your own self of your fulfillment in life.

The Independent

The Independent PDF Author: Leonard Bacon
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 832

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Book Description


In Search of Evidence

In Search of Evidence PDF Author: Emmanuel Amurawaiye MD
Publisher: FriesenPress
ISBN: 1460214145
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
Does God exist? Man has not been able to give a credible answer to that question despite advances in knowledge. As a result, the world remains confused about religion, and whether to believe claims made by “sacred” books like the Bible and the Quran. Is it true that unbelievers would end up in Hell? Did God give Moses the Ten Commandments and the other 600 laws of the Old Testament? Did God reveal the Quran to Prophet Muhammad? To answer these and other questions, In Search of Evidence looks at passages taken from various Scriptures. It contends that while we may not be able to conclusively determine whether God exists or not, there is enough evidence to determine whether the contents of the “sacred” books of the world’s religions were revealed by an omniscient being [God]. Religion does not need to be taken on faith. This book provides a framework for meaningful and objective, rather than a faith-based search for the truth.

The Social Roots of Risk

The Social Roots of Risk PDF Author: Kathleen Tierney
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 0804791406
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 318

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Book Description
“This book about risk and disaster—and how they get amplified—is fascinating and hugely important as we face an ever-more-turbulent world.” —Rebecca Solnit, award-winning author of A Field Guide to Getting Lost The first decade of the twenty-first century saw a remarkable number of large-scale disasters. Earthquakes in Haiti and Sumatra underscored the serious economic consequences that catastrophic events can have on developing countries, while 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina showed that first world nations remain vulnerable. The Social Roots of Risk argues against the widespread notion that cataclysmic occurrences are singular events, driven by forces beyond our control. Instead, Kathleen Tierney contends that disasters of all types—be they natural, technological, or economic—are rooted in common social and institutional sources. Put another way, risks and disasters are produced by the social order itself—by governing bodies, organizations, and groups that push for economic growth, oppose risk-reducing regulation, and escape responsibility for tremendous losses when they occur. Considering a wide range of historical and looming events—from a potential mega-earthquake in Tokyo that would cause devastation far greater than what we saw in 2011, to BP’s accident history prior to the 2010 blowout—Tierney illustrates trends in our behavior, connecting what seem like one-off events to illuminate historical patterns. Like risk, human resilience also emerges from the social order, and this book makes a powerful case that we already have a significant capacity to reduce the losses that disasters produce. A provocative rethinking of the way that we approach and remedy disasters, The Social Roots of Risk leaves readers with a better understanding of how our own actions make us vulnerable to the next big crisis—and what we can do to prevent it. “Brilliant . . . Drawing on a trove of timely case studies, Tierney analyses how factors such as speculative finance and rampant development allow natural and economic blips to tip more easily into catastrophe.” —Nature