Risk analysis in loss prevention research
Conventional risk management models identify risks, assess the probability of their occurrence and potential impact, and then implement steps to reduce the risk or the impact of the risk. Although almost all retailers implement measures to try to eliminate or reduce theft (the end step of risk management), we know little about how many undertake systematic risk assessments of loss to guide solutions and the methods that they may use to do so. This study presents the results of a survey of 22 diverse retail companies about their LP/AP risk management process, including the types of risk data collected, types of risk assessment and analyses conducted, and how these data are used in management decisions.
Preventing Retail-Sector Crimes
The prevalence of crime in the retail sector is higher than for residents, and multiple victimization is common. Shops and stores have major exposure to external crime such as theft, burglary, robbery and threats, and violence to staff. Internal crime, such as fraud and theft by employees, is less of a problem. The location, siting, and design of a store significantly affects its crime risk, as does the type of neighborhood in which it is situated. Expenditure on security measures is high, but evaluated and published accounts of crime-prevention experiments are rare. Nonetheless, there are documented and cost-effective examples of prevention against all the major crime risks; the most useful approach to implementing these will require development and dissemination of crime audit methods and good practice in crime prevention. Cooperative methods of crime prevention in local areas, involving changes in security management within companies, and participation of public agencies, are likely also to be required.
Project management education: The human skills imperative
Abstract This paper is intended to provide an insight into the importance of human skills in project management success and the apparent lack of emphasis placed on this within the context of university education. The discussion will call upon the viewpoints of many notable authors in respect to the human or ‘soft’ skills that are necessary in the management of projects. Against this background a review will be conducted into how well project management literature and university education equips potential project managers in the area of human skills. As the PMBOK ® Guide is one of the major recommended texts in Australian universities offering project management education, the paper will identify that it predominantly emphasises the required ‘hard (technical) skills’ at the expense of the ‘soft (human) skills’. Subsequent discussion will highlight the need for a balance between hard and soft skills within project management education in universities. It will conclude that educators within this discipline should recognise the importance of incorporating greater human skills aspects into their educational programs.