Report on Risk Management Initiatives at Woolworths Supermarkets

This report provides an overview of Woolworths Supermarkets' risk management initiatives, focusing on stakeholder communication, risk identification, analysis, and treatment strategies. It highlights the company's consultation processes with stakeholders, particularly the IT manager, to ensure uninterrupted system functionality. The report identifies political, technological, economic, environmental, social, legal, and competitive risks faced by Woolworths, including the impact of a duopolistic market, technological advancements, free trade policies, environmental regulations, and legal issues with the ACCC. Key risks analyzed include lower international presence, new market entrants, fluctuating global economies, marketing risks, regulatory risks, inadequate stakeholder participation, poor communication, resource insufficiency, and health and safety concerns. The report also outlines risk treatment goals and actions, such as digital marketing research and establishing effective communication systems, with specified timeframes and relevant stakeholders. The risk assessment matrix provides a detailed breakdown of risk likelihood, consequence, and priority, offering a comprehensive understanding of Woolworths' risk management approach. Desklib provides access to similar solved assignments and resources for students.

R I S K M A N A G E M E N T I N I T I AT I V E S
Woolworths

Company Overview
Woolworths Supermarkets which is an
Australian supermarket chain owned by Woolworths
Limited
Woolworths undertook a duopoly with Coles, which
constituted of around 80% of the Australian retail
market
The concerned organization currently holds around
1000 stores, 976 supermarkets and around 19
convenience stores
The revenue of the organization was calculated to be
A$ 56.726 billion as was computed by the end of the
fiscal year 2018

Consultation and Communication with stakeholders
Risks that are faced by the concerned
organization is based on the lack of
international presence of the same
Currently the organization undertook
consultation with the board members before
implementing a change
The organization is planning to undertake the
rational decision making process in order
to assess the risks and thereby implement
different changes in the processes

Consultation and Communication with stakeholders
The chosen stakeholder for the research is the IT
manager as the different capabilities of the organization
will be enhanced through the uninterrupted functioning
of the systems. The risks might affect the capabilities of
the IT manager in maintaining the efficiency of the
operations.
The organization currently undertook AUS 2005; 113
risk management method, which helped the same in
identifying the risks
 The organization is planning to undertake different
communicative measures through meetings with the
stakeholders for transmitting all the important
information

Establishment of the Context and Identification of
Risks
Political
The political pressure towards a duopolistic retail
markets has restricted the functioning of the business
Unstable political situation of the Australian markets
has affected the objective of uninterrupted
functioning
Technology
The introduction of SAP based technology in the
retail markets has enhanced the competition
Technological innovations in retail markets have
helped in enhancing the rate of competition

Establishment of the Context and
Identification of Risks
Economic
The free trade policies of the organization
have enabled the growth of the new entrants
in the Australian markets
Environmental factors
The environmental regulations that are
induced by the Australian government have
restricted the smooth functioning of the
organization

Establishment of the Context and Identification
of Risks
Social issues
Poor relation with the suppliers and other stakeholders of the
organization
Legislation
The legal issues with ACCC (Australian Competition and
Consumer Commission) have restricted the activities of the
organization
Competitors
The different competitors of the business are Aldi, Amazon,
eBay, Coles Group, Walmart and Tesco
Other
The other issues that are faced by the organization are based
on the lack of proper communication with the customers

Identification and analysis of Risks
The lower international presence of the
organization has affected the wider customer
base of the business
The organization did not take any step for
expending in the other economies, which
limited their customer base within the
regions
The new entrants in the retail industry and
the threat of the substitute products resulted
to risks relating to the sustenance of the
business
Fluctuations in the global economies also

Identification and analysis of Risks
Marketing risks
Risks relating to regulations
Lack of adequate stakeholder participation in operations
Lack of proper communication
Resource insufficiency
Lack of understanding the demand faced by the
organization
Lack of proper health and safety measures
Fluctuations in the global economies
The decreasing quality of the products and services
The failure of the operating process planned by the
organization

References
Risk ref. Risk Likelihood Consequence Risk level Priority
MAR01
Marketing risks Almost certain catastrophic $ 1.5million< 0.5% 2
REG01 Risks relating to regulations Likely major $ 85 Billion < 0.7% 1
STAKE01
Lack of adequate stakeholder
participation in operations
Likely moderate $ 90 billion < 1.2% 1
COMM1 Lack of proper communication Possible moderate $ 1million < 0.23% 3
RES02 Resource insufficiency Likely moderate $92 billion < 0.42% 2
MARRES02 Lack of understanding the
demand faced by the
organization
Unlikely moderate $ 87 billion < 0.5 % 1
HEALTH04 Lack of proper health and
safety measures
Rare minor $ 47 billion < 0.4% 2
FLUCTUATINGECO01 Fluctuations in the global
economies
Unlikely minor $ 45 billion < 0.2% 1
QUALITY04 The decreasing quality of the
products and services
Rare insignificant $ 23 billion < 0.1% 2
OPERATIONAL01 The failure of the operating
process planned by the
organization
Rare insignificant $26 billion < 0.2% 3

Risk treatment
Goals Actions Timeframe Relevant stakeholders
Digital marketing •Research of the market situation
•Investigating costs of implementing
software implementation
7- 8 months IT managers
Establishing a sound
communication system
•Research of the market situation
•Investigating costs
•Implementing the process
1- 3 years IT manager
Establishing a team of market
research
•meetings with the board members
•creation of team
3 years IT and communication