Free Essay About The Role Of Risk Management At The Homeland Security Enterprise

Being the world’s biggest economy, the United States security environment is very complex and is full of many competing interests, incentives and requirements that must be effectively require effective management and balancing to ensure the continued achievement of national goals and objectives. The security, safety and resilience of the United States is under constant threat from a wide array of hazards that include terrorism, cybercrime, pandemics, natural disasters transnational crime and manmade accidents. The United States Department of Homeland Security plays a vital role in the management of such varied and complex risks that face the nation on a daily basis. The management of these risks is very crucial because if not managed, these risks have potential to cause the loss of life, serious injuries, negative psychological and psychosocial impact, economic activities loss, environmental degradation and loss of confidence on the capabilities of the government.
The establishment of capacity and capability to pin point, comprehend and address the mentioned strategies acts as the crux of risk management. Therefore, risk management is an approach for creating and implementing enhanced homeland security decisions.
Homeland Security is required by the government to craft and promote a surety risk management approach that is integrated and that collaborates with other stake holders outside the homeland security fraternity. The Homeland Security Department’s role in creating this integrated risk management process is to bring about safety, security and resilience across the national domains by linking terrorism prevention efforts, security enhancement, management of national borders, enforcement and administration of immigration laws, constant monitoring and safeguarding of cyber space, resilience to both manmade and natural disasters and provision of basic support in assuring national security.
Improvement in the homeland security aspect significantly depends on connecting data on risks and capabilities and then using this data to guide prevention, protection, and response as well as recovery efforts. Establishment of effective risk management practice in the Department of Homeland Security will not only help in the protection and enhancement of national interest and incentives but will also help in the conservation of national resources and also assist in the mitigation or avoidance of the effects of emerging or unknown risks. At the DHS organizational level, proper application of risk management principles will augment and complement operational and strategic planning efforts, development of policy, budget formulation, performance assessment and evaluation and finally the report processes.
It is however important to note that risk management does not essentially prevent negative events from happening, it simply enables the DHS to focus on factors that are likely to bring about to harm or threat to homeland security and then employing special approaches to prevent or mitigate such incidences. In addition, the national economy, resources and the ways of life of all American citizens receive a lot of boosting and resilience support through correct anticipation, communication and preparation of both internal and external hazards that results from a deliberate and comprehensive risk management process.
The risk management process at Homeland security forms part of effective organization practices that involve planning, preparedness, process improvement, process improvement as well as budgetary priority development. The value of risk management to decision makers at the Department of Homeland security fraternity is exhibited in aspects such as resources allocation, strategic planning and budgetary applications. Through this process, the federal government is made aware of the potential risk facing the country and thus able to commit the required resources and the budget needed to establish effective counter strategies or plans. In addition, the establishments of an adequate structure or framework and organization culture that will support the implementation of homeland security risk management is key in the attainment of national security goals and objectives. It is an essential process that enables the national security leaders in choosing priorities amongst competing concerns and requirements and enabling the development of comprehensive models of measuring performance progress. In simple terms, risk management enables the stakeholders at the Homeland Security Department to distinguish between alternative courses of action, assess the department’s capabilities and finally prioritize on some activities and their associated resources by understanding the risks and their impact on alternative decisions. For the risk management at Homeland security to be effective, it must utilize the five key principles of risk management that include unity of effort, adaptability, transparency, customization and practicality.
In conclusion, risk management plays a very crucial role in the homeland Security enterprise. It is clear that for safety, security and resilience of the American nation to be realized, there is a need for the stakeholders at the Homeland Security enterprise to identify, comprehend and craft strategies meant for the prevention, mitigation and control of risks. In addition, a homeland security initiative that is oriented towards risk management will enable the efficient strategic planning, resources allocation and budgetary applications to such an initiative. However, the establishment and maintenance of risk management culture at the homeland security enterprise requires utmost attention, commitment and dedication of both leadership and personnel.
Bibliography