The Management of Ethical Risk and the Ethics of Risk Management

Abstract

This brief provides a whole-systems perspective on two key elements of decision-making at regulatory agencies: risk and ethics. Risk management and ethics intersect in a number of ways but these intersections are not always obvious or explicit. I will argue that both risk management and ethics programs often suffer from an inward-looking focus–a focus on the organization itself rather than a more complete perspective that includes the impact of the organization on the world. Such a narrow, inward-looking focus cannot be defended from a whole-systems perspective. To put it succinctly, the ethics of the ethics operation and the risk of the risk operation – 2nd order risk and ethics – require attention.