Introduction

The successful management of operational change in the new millennium is set to become even more critical to overall business success as the rate of change continues to increase. Organizations will need to adapt even more quickly to the changing needs of their marketplace. They will be able to pick and choose from an expanding array of technological solutions to reorganize business processes and further restructure. In operating in network economies , they will be able to enter into new forms of risk-sharing business-to-business relationships. In all of these contexts, the tension between managing risk and taking risk will be even higher.

The management of growth and change, in tandem with operations management, will be a key concern. In the 1980s and 1990s, cost-cutting exercises, rationalization initiatives, and other attempts to create mean and lean enterprises took centre stage. In the new millennium, a return to investment-led growth is likely to highlight the importance of managing growth, change, and operational continuity in new ways.

As the pace of change increases exponentially, the role of operational risk management will gravitate even further towards ensuring that business operations are as efficient as possible in delivering service to the customer. Risk management practice will have to make the transition towards satisfying all stake-holders, such as customers and employees in addition to shareholders.

In this chapter, we examine new business trends that require a cutting edge application of operational risk management. Integration is emerging as a key concept. As we move into the millennium,...