ABSTRACT
The management of risk is inherent in all business enterprise, but it is only in, say, the last fifty years that risk management (RM) has emerged as a recognized management discipline, and only in the last twenty years or so that businesses other than financial institutions have begun to establish formal RM functions. This chapter implicitly argues that to some extent we should consider that 'all management is risk management', and suggests that history offers many insights into RM. The professionalization of management, whether generally or of RM, cannot provide solutions to all risk problems, particularly where information asymmetries and weak institutional protections persist in imperfect markets. The importance of diversification is apparent, as are the benefits of organizational flexibility, adaptability and resilience, and the willingness to adopt multiple approaches to RM, including reliance on natural hedges and local financing.
