Taking Risks

Donald Wherung and Kenneth R. Maccrimmon examine how the external factors of leaders lives effect their ability to manage and take risks.

Emphasizing the importance of a manager’s ability and willingness to take risks in their business decisions, Taking Risks reveals how age, education, income, industry, and firm size, among other factors, affect a manager’s drive to take risks.

“By far the most authoritative and comprehensive study of risk taking that I have ever seen. Must reading for business executives, social scientists, government officials, management scholars — anyone who face real-world pressures of making decisions or seeks to understand the process behind them.” – James S. Dyer, Foster Parker Centennial Professor of Management and Finance, University of Texas – Austin

Table of Contents:

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Part One: INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1 Essence of Risk

Introduction

Risky Situations

Risk Behavior

Risk Takers and Risk Averters

Preview of the Book

Chapter 2 Studying Risk

Introduction

Other Studies of Risk

Our Study of Risk

Part Two: RISK IN STANDARDIZED SITUATIONS

Chapter 3 Risk In-Basket: Adjusting Risky Business Situations

Introduction

Our Study

Research Findings

Conclusions

Chapter 4 Investment Gambles: Choosing in Risky Personal and Business Situations

Introduction

Our Study

Research Findings

Conclusions

Chapter 5 Risk-Return Rankings: Evaluating Risky Attributes of Personal Investments

Introduction

Our Study

Research Findings

Conclusions

Chapter 6 Real Money Wagers: Evaluating Gambles with Common Risk Components

Introduction

Our Study

Research Findings

Conclusions

Chapter 7 Managerial Summary and Implications: Studying Risk in Standardized Situations

Introduction

Risk Recognition and Evaluation

Risk Adjustment

Risky Choice

Part Three: RELATIONSHIPS AMONG RISK MEASURES

Chapter 8 Comparison of Risk Measures in Standardized Situations

Introduction

Measures of Risk Propersity

Research Findings

Conclusions

Chapter 9 Measuring Risk in Natural Situations and Attitudes

Introduction

Natural Situations

Attitudes

Natural Situations and Attitudes

Conclusions

Chapter 10 Characteristics Related to Risk

Introduction

Risk and Personal Characteristics

Risk and Financial Characteristics

Risk and Business Characteristics

Risk and Success

The Consistent Risk Averters and the Consistent Risk Takers

Conclusions

Chapter 11 Managerial Summary and Implications: Relationships among Risk Measures and Characteristics

Introduction

Risk Taking and Risk Averting

Characteristics Related to Risk

Part Four: ASSESSING YOUR OWN WILLINGNESS TO TAKE RISKS

Chapter 12 Assessing Your Own Willingness to Take Risks

Introduction

Comparing Your Willingness to Take Risks with the Risk-Neutral Responses

Comparing Your Willingness to Take Risks with the Managers in the Study

Uses of Risk Portfolios and Risk Profiles

Organizational Risk Profile for a Firm

Individual Risk Profiles

Summary

Appendix: Questionnaires in the Risk Portfolio

Notes

References

Index

About the Author :
Kenneth R. MacCrimmon is Earle Douglas McPhee Professor of Management, Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration, the University of British Columbia. The former J.L. Kellogg Distinguished Professor of Strategy and Decision at Northwestern University, he is internationally known for his work on decision making, risk taking, and strategic management.

Review :
Business Fascinating...should appeal to all managers for whom risk is an integral part of business life. Howard Kunreuther Professor of Decision Sciences and Public Management, Director of the Center for Risk and Decision Processes, The Wharton School This is the first time that extensive data on executive attitudes toward risk has been pulled together and analyzed...Very solid...will be of great interest to business managers and consultants as well as academics in business schools. James S. Dyer Foster Parker Centennial Professor of Management and Finance, University of Texas -- Austin Taking Risks is an excellent book -- by far the most authoritative and comprehensive study of risk taking that I have ever seen. Must reading for business executives, social scientists, government officials, management scholars -- anyone who faces the real-world pressures of malting decisions or seeks to understand the processes behind them.