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Risk culture and the normalisation of deviance

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 18 May 2018
Alex Roberts, CURA Software Solution's regional director of Sales and Operations.
Alex Roberts, CURA Software Solution's regional director of Sales and Operations.

Every successful organisation has, by default, a set of processes in place to adequately manage risk from all perspectives. However, although these processes are usually embarked upon with the best intentions, they can become corrupted without anyone noticing.

"When it comes to processes, there is a natural human tendency to rationalise shortcuts under pressure, especially when nothing bad occurs thereafter," says Alex Roberts, CURA Software Solutions' regional director of Sales and Operations.

"The lack of bad outcomes can reinforce the 'rightness' of trusting past success instead of objectively assessing risk, thereby knowingly making small mistakes that one day could lead to a preventable risk materialising."

This phenomenon has become known as the normalisation of deviance, Roberts adds.

Businesses are under increasing pressure to maximise certain metrics while lowering production costs, he says.

"This risk-reward modus operandi sets a dangerous precedent for processes, as we begin to reinforce behaviours that lie just outside of our tolerance, but because they have not led to a major risk materialising, we just continue to accept this is a practice that can be repeated without repercussion."

According to Roberts, this normalisation of deviance can be applied to a slew of contexts and scales, ranging from the 1986 Challenger space shuttle crash, to seemingly small risks that most people take on a daily basis.

A common, every day example of this, would be talking on our phones while driving, he continues. "Many people can't resist checking a message or answering a call when driving, and often you continue driving without incident. Given the frequency and banality of such occurrences, we begin to tell ourselves that it is perfectly safe to regularly perform the behaviour."

Unfortunately, the more often this is done, the more it becomes a habit. "The action becomes a normal part of an individual's driving routine. We are putting ourselves at tremendous personal risk just because a deviant behaviour has been repeated enough for it to no longer feel deviant."

In conclusion, Roberts says is fundamental that, from a risk culture perspective, we do not tolerate any normalisation of deviance, because the repercussions could be catastrophic.

"There are numerous technological solutions that can be implemented to avoid these types of scenarios materialising. Software solutions, such as those created by CURA, simplify and increase the effectiveness of risk management through reporting, risk awareness, data analysis, decision-making and accountability."

He says a successful risk framework should enable an organisation to take risks more intelligently. "A well-implemented framework enables businesses to accurately and consistently measure risk so that the company's risk appetite aligns to its risk-taking initiatives."

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