Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 192-202).

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Hamburg, 1982. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Backgounding beef cattle is an inherently risky venture. Producers faceproduction risks as well as marketing risks. If a backgrounding operation is to be viable,these risks should be addressed and effectively managed. While some effective riskmanagement tools are currently available to livestock producers, some other potentiallyuseful risk management tools, for various reasons, have been previously unavailable.Two such tools which could help livestock producers achieve the overall goal ofmanaging net income risk are a program for managing feed ingredient nutrient and pricevariability in the selection of minimum cost feed rations and government subsidizedlivestock price insurance.Due to lack of data and limited computational power of solvers, risk has seldombeen introduced into the feed ration selection process. Presently, both feed ingredientnutritional data and appropriate solvers are available, allowing for risk to be fullyconsidered in this decision-making process. Only recently has there been policy effortsto establish subsidized price or revenue insurance for livestock producers. Theintroduction of such insurance to livestock producers offers potential risk managementbenefit but also has the potential to introduce improper incentives to livestock producers.This study will evaluate both of the aforementioned livestock risk managementtools. In addition to evaluating their effectiveness, the policy concerns of subsidizedlivestock insurance will also be addressed. Results will be relevant to a broad range ofentities. In addition to livestock producers wishing to manage the risks associated withtheir operations, agribusinesses that provide service to these producers such as feed salesor financial lending will benefit from knowing how these risk management strategiesperform. Furthermore, policy makers who will structure livestock insurance products canhopefully do so more efficiently based on the results of the livestock insurance analysis.

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M.Com. (Business Management) / Risk management is an important factor in ensuring business and project success. Thus, risk management methodologies are constantly being developed and improved. In order to define the goals, specify the process and manage progress, it is necessary to have a clear view of the enterprise‟s current approach to risk, as well as a definition of the intended destination. Benchmarking offers the opportunity to determine the current maturity capability against agreed frameworks, and also provides a structured route to improvement. A generally accepted framework is needed in order for an organisation to benchmark its current maturity and capability in managing risk, and this framework should also assist in defining progress towards increased maturity. Being an assessment tool, a risk maturity model is designed to measure risk management capability and to provide objectives for improvement The purpose of the research is to identify, adapt and recommend a sound risk maturity model, together with an easily applicable and effective questionnaire for use to measure the risk capability maturity of a Life Insurer (“Liberty Life”). To achieve this aim, six risk management maturity models were identified through a literature review and the proposed model was further supported with long-term insurance specific attributes of risk management as advocated by leading corporate governance codes and regulations such as King III and the newly proposed Financial Services Board (FSB) Solvency Assessment and Management (SAM) regime. Despite the widening consensus on the value of risk management, effective implementations of risk processes into organisations are not common. The benefits of mature risk management have been discussed in Chapter 2. By adopting an exploratory approach, the researcher conducted a qualitative research project, in the form of an in-depth case study, on a multinational financial services organisation. Unstructured face-to-face interviews were held with senior executives and risk managers in order to gather data regarding what they perceive as key attributes, including acceptable measurement criteria, of a risk maturity model appropriate and effective for implementation in their organisation.

When society fails to effectively integrate natural and constructed environments, one of the cataclysmic byproducts of this disconnect is an increased risk of natural disasters. On top of the devastation that is the aftermath of such disasters, poor planning and engineering decisions have detrimental effects on communities as they attempt to recover and rebuild. While there is an inherent difficulty in the quantification of the cost of human life, interruption in business operations, and damage to the properties, it is critical to develop plans and mitigation strategies to promote fast recovery. Traditionally insurance and reinsurance products have been used as a mitigation strategy for financing post-disaster recovery. However, there are number of problems associated with these models such as lack of liquidity, defaults, long litigation process, etc. In light of these problems, new Alternative Risk Transfer (ART) methods are introduced. The pricing of these risk mitigating instruments, however, has been mostly associated with the hazard frequency and intensity; and little recognition is made of the riskiness of the structure to be indemnified. This study proposes valuation models for catastrophe-linked ART products and insurance contracts in which the risks and value can be linked to the characteristics of the insured portfolio of constructed assets. The results show that the supply side ? structural parameters are as important as the demand ? hazard frequency, and are in a highly nonlinear relationship with financial parameters such as risk premiums and spreads.