Name: Malek Al-Atrash ID: 1195090

(1) Effective
Risk Culture in Banks: Responsibilities and boundaries of the
Risk Management

Purpose: The Financial Crisis of 2007 showed, that a not appropriate risk culture as well as
poorness in the risk management played a major role in banking failures. To establish a good risk
culture has become an object of focus by regulators. They are focusing on the bank’s norms,
attitudes and behaviors, linked with the risk taking and risk awareness.

Methodology/design/approach: This paper provides an explanatory framework for a link

between an effective risk culture and a comprehensive risk management in the new light of the
current regulatory environment. The aim of this paper is to offer a better understanding of the
underlying aspects of risk management responsibilities and boundaries in respect to a risk culture.

Findings and conclusion: This section outlines an approach for a risk management as an
integral part of a business strategy, its responsibilities and boundaries and the influence of a risk
culture. In the past decades supervisors and banks increased their focus on strengthening the Risk
culture. A lot of statistical approaches for measuring risks precisely were developed. Despite
that, even high sophisticated tools cannot prevent financial institutions from suffering large
losses, which may occur as a consequence of a not appropriate employee behavior. Hence, it is
necessary to focus more on incentives for excessive risk taking or taking risks with no
appropriate risk management in place.
(2) Risk management practices adopted by financial firms

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to bring to light the risk management practices adopted
by financial firms. It seeks to: first, identify the risk management strategies and mechanisms that
these firms adopt to manage risks, maximize opportunities, and maintain financial stability;
second, determine whether these practices are perceived as contributing to principled
performance; third, examine the extent to which risk management capabilities offer competitive
advantage to firms, and fourth, investigate whether corporate social responsibility is a key driver
of risk management corporate strategies.

Methodology/design/approach: A self-administered questionnaire purposely designed for

the present study was distributed among the 156 credit institutions, investment firms and
financial institutions. Overall, 141 firms participated in the study (a response rate of 90.4 per
cent) and the responses were subjected to statistical analysis in an attempt to answer four
research questions.

Findings and conclusion: Financial firms have sound risk management practices that link
positively with added value and principled performance. Although competitive advantage has
been given less weight by these firms, the implemented risk management mechanisms allow for
a strong risk culture, defined risk management goals, accountability and continual improvement.
Corporate social responsibilities forms part of the firms’ risk management corporate strategies
and are valued as part of these firms’ corporate culture, while financial/economic factors are
viewed as key in driving effective risk management principles.
(3) Project Risk Register Analysis and Practical Conclusions

Purpose: The aim of the current research is to examine real project risk registers to find
correlations between project risk management, and practical results of real project risk
management.

Methodology/design/approach: The aim of the study is to assess the compliance of the

publicly (in the Internet) available project risk registers with the description of project risk
management in three project risk management manuals. For the purposes of the research the
author has used both quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Findings and conclusion: The research has not provided the answer on what an accurate risk
register is. The risk registers are different and the coincidence or difference of column headings
does not guarantee that the column contents will be the same or, respectively, different. The
analysis of the risk registers by column headings is insufficient – a more profound quantitative
analysis of the risk registers must be performed by finding the appropriate project management
or project risk management theory description for each of the risk registers used in the research.