3 Review(s)

We live in a ‘risk society’ where the identification, distribution and management of risks, from new technology, environmental factors or other sources are crucial to our individual and social existence. Jeanne and Roger Kasperson are two of the world’s leading and most influential analysts of the social dimensions of risk. ‘The Social Contours of Risk’ brings together in two volumes their most important contributions to this fundamental and wide-ranging field. Volume 2 centers on the analysis and management of risk in society, in international business and multinationals, and globally. The ‘acceptability’ of risk to an individual depends on the context, whether in the larger society or in, say, a corporate framework. Their work clarifies the structures and processes for managing risks in the private sector, and the factors that produce or impede effective decisions. Corporate culture is crucial as they show in determining risk management. They analyze the transfer of corporate risk management systems from industrial to developing countries, and how globalization is spreading and creating new kinds of risk -- the combination of traditional and modern hazards presented by climate change, technology transfer and economic growth. They describe the new priorities and capacities needed to deal with these enhanced vulnerabilities around the globe.