preparations unit 6: risks

1. Jarno Noteboom English 2B 2M01
Preparations Unit 6: Risk
Starting up
A. Are you a risk- taker? What risks have you taken?
Takingrisksis somethingthatIneedtomake my life alittle bitexciting.It’sfuntotake risks,
especiallyif yousucceedthem.Idon’ttake riskswhere i can lose toomuchmoneybutmaybe later,
whenI workand if I have a bitmore money,Iwill doinvestmentsI thinkandthat’salwaysa risk.
Other(maybe stupid) risksthatI’ve done are somethinglike drinkwithmycarwhile I drunk3 or
more beersor gambling…
B. Whichitemin each of the categoriesbelowcarries the most and the leastrisk? Explain
why.
Travel:it’ssure that the most accidentshappenswithcars,daily.Plane travelingisthe bestincase of
risks,althoughif youcrash witha plane there’salittle chance tosurvive.
Lifestyle:Ithinksmokingisthe worstforour body,especiallyforourlungs.Joggingisdefinitelythe
bestfor our bodyandhealth.
Money:like above I’ve saidthatinvestmentsare risks,sostocksandsharesare the oneswiththe
mostrisks.Savingsaccountis the one withthe leastrisksbutit doesn’tbringmuchmoneyanymore.
Shopping:onlineandmail orderhave the mostchance to get wrongbecause of a wrong delivery,
anotherorder,…
C. What sort of risks do businessesface (forexample:financial risks,environmental risks)?
Can you give some examples
Especiallythe riskof bankruptcyandinvestmentsthatwentwrong.Forexample acompanythat
merge withanothercompanytomake one product witheachotherthat costs much moneyfor
researchand developmentand startingcosts.If the product isn’tthat successful astheyhoped,they
will lose alotof money.
Vocabulary
A. The verbsin the box are usedwhen talkingabout risk. Checktheir meaningsand put them
under the appropriate headingin the table below.
Predict:anticipate,estimate,foresee,calculate
Meet:encounter,identify,face,eliminate

2. Jarno Noteboom English 2B 2M01
Asses:estimate,gauge,evaluate,measure
Manage: minimise,prioritise,reduce,spread
B. Match these sentence halvesfrom newspaperextracts
Duringthe creditcrunch, manybusinessesfacedthe riskof runningoutof money. 1-E
We can reduce riskbyspreadingourlendingacrossmore markets.2-F
Tryingto minimise riskisanimportantpartof businessstrategy.3-G
It’simpossibletoeliminate all riskwhenenteringanew market.4-D
It’sdifficulttoforesee the risksinordertoadvise insurance companies. 5-B
Actuariescalculate riskinvolvedinsettingupanew business.6-C
It isimportantto considerthe risksinvolvedwhensendingstaff toworkindangerouslocation.7-A
C. These adjectivescan be usedwith the word risk. Complete themwiththe missingvowels.
Slight
Great
Miniscule
Considerable
Potential
Immediate
Huge
Remote
Serious
Negligible
Significant
Imminent
Substantial
Terrible
Tremendous

3. Jarno Noteboom English 2B 2M01
D. Of the adjectivesinExercise C, whichdescribe:
A highlevel of risk?A lowlevel: huge -> slight
A possible futurerisk?A riskinthe verynearfuture: potential ->immediate
Listening
A. Listento Steve Fowler, ManagingDirector ofthe Institute of Risk Management,and give
one example of internal risk and one example ofexternal risk.
Internal:injuriestoemployeeswithinthe factory
External:tsunami
B. Listenagain and complete the chart.
Hazard: hurricanes& flutes
Operational:employmentrisks
Strategic:availabilityof newtechnologies&area of competition
Financial:lackof liquidity
C. Listento the second part of the interview.Whatare the five keysteps to risk
management?
1. Recognize the strategicobjectivesforyourorganisationandthe keyprocessthatyour
organizationuses
2. Identifywhatthe riskseffectingthe organizationmightbe
3. Assessendprioritisethose risks
4. Mitigatingrisk
5. Followbackthose actionsthroughto one’sstrategicobjectivesagain.

4. Jarno Noteboom English 2B 2M01
D. Listento the final part. Whichthree examplesdoesSteve give oforganisations or
industriesthat failedto manage risk? What doeshe say about each example?
1. Bankingindustry:hastakenrecklessrisks.Theymightleadtomassive implications.
2. An Americanbasedclothingretailer:theymanagedtolose 45 millioncreditcarddetailstwo
yearsago, givingrise toan 80 millionloss
3. Videocassette industry:those organisationshave facedthe ultimateriskof beingreplacedby
anothertechnology
Reading
A. Answerthese questions.
What thingsdoyou and yourfamilyinsure against?
 Water damage,familial,fire,car,
What sort of thingsdo biginternational companiesneedtoinsure against?
 Fire,water,burglary,propriety
B. Read the article on the opposite page quicklyand, in as few words as possible,say what
the main pointof the article is.
Insurance isa complex thingbutthisdaysit’ssomethingthatyouneed.
C. Read the article again and answer these questions.
How didthe insurance industry start?
 As shipownerslookedtoprotectthe increasingvaluesof theirshipsandcargoes.
What do reinsurersdo?
 Theycreate a place where insurance companiescancovertheirlarge risks.
How dothe twoexamplesof majorlossesinparagraphs7and 8 illustrate thisquote?
‘Countrieswithan underdeveloped systemof insurancesufferimmeasurably morefrommajor
catastrophesthan thosewherea good partof thematerial losses can be covered by professionalrisk
carriers.’
 One of the biggestlosseventsinhistory:the attackon the WTC in New Yorkwas a prime
example of the complexityof today’srisks.Several insuranceclassessuchasfire,liability,…
the insurance are importantto paymoneyback to the victims.Anothercase wasthe tsunami
of 2004 which broughthumansufferingandlossesof overthe 10bn dollar.

5. Jarno Noteboom English 2B 2M01
D. In your own words, summarise the key pointsin the numberedexamples(1-3) inthe
article.
1. Waterwaysare the mostusedfortransporting
2. Outsourcingtolow-wage costshaven’talwaysall positive things…itreducesthe costsbutit
alsocan reduce the qualityof yourproducts.
3. If you have e highliabilityanditgoeswrong,the effectscanbe extremelybad
E. Findwords in the article whichmean the following.
Whenthe makerof a product is responsibleforanyinjurythatthe product causes.
=> liability
Moneythat a court orders someone topayto someone else.
=> awardsof damage
The collectionof all policiesheldbyaninsurer.
=> portfolio
The total combinedrisksthatcouldbe involvedinasingle lossevent.
=> accumulation
A terrible eventthatcausesa lotof destructionandsuffering.
=> catastrophe
F. Complete these sentenceswiththe words form Exercise E
1. Awardsof damage
2. Liability
3. Catastrophe
4. Portfolio
5. Accumulation
G. Withoutlookingback at the article, match the words on the leftto the phraseson the right
to make expressions.
Bear => the brunt
Spring=> to mind
Meet=> a need
Pave => the way
Spread=> the risks

6. Jarno Noteboom English 2B 2M01
H. Match the expressionsinExercise G to theirmeanings
Immediatelythinkof something=>springthe mind
Make itpossible forsomethingtohappeninthe future => pave the way
Sufferthe worstpart of somethingunpleasant=>bear the brunt
Reduce the chance of a large lossby sharingrisks=> spreadthe risks
Be goodenoughtodo what someone needs,wantsorexpects=>meeta need
I. In the next30 years, which typesof risk do you think will become a) more significant,and
b) lesssignificant
a) Geographical problemslike earthquakes,badpollution,lesselectricity,…
b) Lessdangerousjobsbecause of the new machinesthatare inventedall the time.
Language review
A. Whichof these adverbs strengthenthe adjective which followand which softenit?
Strengthen:entirely,exceptionally,extremely,fully,highly,increasingly,totally,very
Soften:abit,fairly,moderately,quite,rather,reasonably,slightly,somewhat
B. Complete these dialogueswitha suitable adverb.
‘What were yoursalesrsultslike lastyear?’
‘Exceptionallygood.Imade my targetswithtwo monthstospare.’
‘What’syour newCEOlike?
‘Extremelytalentedand veryintelligent.She bringsoutthe estinpeople.’
‘Do youreallythinkwe shouldinvestina quite volatile market?’
‘Well,firstof all we shouldstaycalmand review whatwe alreadyown.’
‘What didyouthinkof the HR Director’spresentation?’
‘ To be honest,Idon’tthinkshe was extremelyprepared.She seems tobe readingitmostof the
time.’
‘Are youconfidentthatthe mergerwill goahead?’
‘Rather confident,althoughwe still needafew more meetingstosortout one or two problems.’

7. Jarno Noteboom English 2B 2M01
Skills
A. Match these expressionsfromthe meetingto the appropriate headingin the Useful
language box below.(Some headingsare not used.) Use the audio script on page 159 to
check the contextof each expression.
Now,justto sumup, we’ve lookedat… => summarising
… I thinkit’sa reallygreatplace…=> Emphasising
So can we all agree,then,thatwe go withFlorence? => makingsuggestion
… I thinkthat mostof the time we’ll be spendingindoors. =>givingopinion
Now,whatabout the activities? =>askingforopinions
What didyou come up with,Carol,forthe actual workshops? =>askingfor opinion
I thoughtit mightbe a good ideatouse role play… => makingsuggestion
I thinksome kindof interactionisagood idea… => agreeing
OK,so we go withthe workshops,then? => summarizing
Well,Idon’tknowaboutrole plays,though. => givingopinion
… I was thinkingmaybe somethinglike,youknow,asimplequiz… =>makingsuggestions
Exactly. => agreeing
… yeah,that’sa brilliantidea…=> agreeing