The contacts visited in this study were all middle- to upper-level managers. While for some organizations, the contact mentioned quantitative risk measurements, like value at risk, it was clear that such calculations were only undertaken for significant capital investments and rarely communicated down the organization hierarchy. At the level visited in all the organizations, the focus was to identify the risk elements in the organization's operations and develop ways to eliminate or reduce operational risk to an acceptable level. The common financial risk mentioned by the contacts across all of the organizations was the need to monitor spending in order to conform to some budgeted or authorized spending limit. The most common operational risk mentioned was the need to ensure that the organization maintained and nurtured the intellectual capital needed to meet service promises.
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