風(fēng)險(xiǎn)主題短文及譯文學(xué)英語
The Meaning of Risk 風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的內(nèi)涵
What exactly is meant by the word "risk"? The word is certainly used frequently in everyday conversation and seems to be well understood by those using it.
To most people, risk implies some form of uncertainty about an outcome in a given situation. An event might occur and, if it does, the outcome is not favourable to us; it is not an outcome we look forward to. The word "risk" implies both doubt about the future, and the fact that the outcome could leave us in a worse position than we are in at the moment.
Writers, particularly in America, have produced a number of definitions of "risk".
Risk is the possibility of an unfortunate occurrence.
Risk is a combination of hazards.
Risk is unpredictability -- the tendency that actual results may differ from predicted results.
Risk is uncertainty of loss.
Risk is the possibility of loss.
Looking at the definitions there does seem to emerge some kind of common-thread running through each of them. Firstly, there is an underlying idea of uncertainty, what we have referred to as doubt about the future. Secondly, there is the implication that there are different levels or degrees of risk. Thirdly, there is the idea of a result having been brought about by one cause or causes.
If a child is playing in the middle of a busy road; if a workman is using a machine while he is unaware, that it is faulty and dangerous; if the pedestrians are unaware that a wall running alongside a pavement is a dangerous condition and about to collapse, what will happen to them? There is an element of risk and uncertainty in each of these situations. The child may escape free of injury, the machine may hold out until the workman has finished using it and the wall may not collapse and injure passersby. Alternatively, there could be serious injury in each case. Uncertainty can exist in the abstract, it is not dependent on being recognized as existing by those who may be most directly involved. Uncertainty is linked more to the event itself, rather than to any personal perception of the existence of uncertainty.
“風(fēng)險(xiǎn)”這個(gè)詞的真正含義是什么?這個(gè)詞在我們的日常會(huì)話中經(jīng)常出現(xiàn)，它似乎被人們所理解。
對(duì)大多數(shù)人來說，風(fēng)險(xiǎn)指的是，在特定情況下某種結(jié)果的不確定性形式。某種事件可能會(huì)發(fā)生，如果發(fā)生，其結(jié)果對(duì)我們不利。它不是我們期望的結(jié)果�！帮L(fēng)險(xiǎn)”既包含著對(duì)未來的疑慮，又包含著發(fā)生的結(jié)果將使我們處于比現(xiàn)在更糟的境地。
許多學(xué)者，特別是美國(guó)的學(xué)者，他們對(duì)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的概念下了一些定義：
風(fēng)險(xiǎn)是不幸事故發(fā)生的可能性。
風(fēng)險(xiǎn)是——切危險(xiǎn)的綜合體。
風(fēng)險(xiǎn)是一種無法預(yù)測(cè)的，其趨勢(shì)是，實(shí)際后果可能不同于預(yù)測(cè)后果。
風(fēng)險(xiǎn)是損失的不確定性。
風(fēng)險(xiǎn)是損失的可能性。
綜合以上定義，有一種共同的思路貫穿于每個(gè)定義之中，那就是我們已經(jīng)提到過的對(duì)未來的疑慮。第二，定義意味著風(fēng)險(xiǎn)存在不同的水準(zhǔn)和不同級(jí)別。第三，定義包含這樣—個(gè)思想，即風(fēng)險(xiǎn)是由于某個(gè)原因或某些原因帶來的一種結(jié)果。
如果一個(gè)小孩在繁華的道路中玩耍；如果一個(gè)工人正在使用機(jī)器而不知道機(jī)器有毛病或有危險(xiǎn)；如果過往的行人不知道人行道旁的圍墻處于危險(xiǎn)狀態(tài)并要倒塌，那么將會(huì)發(fā)生什么情況?每種情況都有風(fēng)險(xiǎn)和不確定性的因素，小孩有可能逃避傷害，機(jī)器有可能不會(huì)發(fā)生意外，圍墻可能沒有傷害過往行人。與此相反，也許每種情況都可能發(fā)生嚴(yán)重的傷亡事故。不確定性存在于抽象之中，它不依賴于那些有直接聯(lián)系的人是否承認(rèn)它的存在，與不確定性聯(lián)系的主要是事件本身，而不是人們對(duì)不確定性存在的認(rèn)識(shí)。
風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的分類
We now turn our attention to the classes into which risk can be placed. This is different from scrutinizing the actual idea of risk, we are now looking at the whole concept of risk and grouping together similar classes of risk. Of the many classes, we will look at three.
Financial and non-financial risks
A financial risk is one where the outcome can be measure() in monetary terms. This is easy to see in the case of material damage to property, theft of property or lost business profit following a fire. In cases of personal injury, it can also be possible to measure financial loss in terms of a court award of damages, or as a result of negotiation between lawyers and insurers. In any of these cases, the outcome of the risky situation can be measured financially.
There are other situations where this kind of measurement is not possible. Take the case of the choice of a new car, or the selection of an item from a restaurant menu. These could be construed as risky situations, not because the outcome will cause financial loss, but because the outcome could be uncomfortable or disliked in some other way. There may or may not be financial implications but in the main the outcome is not measurable financially but by other, more human, criteria.
Pure and speculative risks
Pure risks involve a loss or, at best, a break-even situation. The outcome can only be unfavourable to us, or leave us in the same position as we enjoyed before the event occurred. The risk of a motor accident, fire at a factory, theft of goods from a store, or injury at work are all pure risks with no element of gain:
The alternative to this is speculative risk, where there is the chance of gain. Investing money in share is a good example. The investment may result in a loss or possibly a break-even position, but the reason it was made was the prospect of gain.
Fundamental and particular risks
Fundamental risks are those which arise from causes outside tile control of any one individual or even a group of individuals. In addition, the effect of fundamental risks is felt by large numbers of people. This classification would include earthquakes, floods, famine, volcanoes and other natural "disasters". However it would not be accurate to limit fundamental risk to naturally occurring perils. Social change, political intervention and war are all capable of being interpreted as fundamental risks.
In contrast to this form of risk, which is impersonal in origin and widespread in effect, we have particular risks. Particular risks are much more personal both in their cause and effect. This would include many of the risks we have already mentioned such as fire, theft, work related injury and motor accidents. All of these risks arise from individual causes and 'affect individuals in their consequences.
我們現(xiàn)在來看風(fēng)險(xiǎn)可以分成哪些類別。這跟審查風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的真實(shí)含義不同，我們現(xiàn)在看到的是風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的整體概念并且是把相似的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)匯集起來。在這許多種類中，我們將看到三類。
財(cái)務(wù)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)和非財(cái)務(wù)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)
財(cái)務(wù)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)是指后果可以用金錢來估量的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。如果財(cái)產(chǎn)遭到實(shí)質(zhì)上的損壞或是遭到偷竊，或是火災(zāi)后商業(yè)利益遭到損失，那是很容易看到的。如果個(gè)人受傷，也可能用金錢來估量法定的受傷賠償，或者由律師和保險(xiǎn)人進(jìn)行協(xié)商得出一個(gè)賠償金額。無論是哪種情況，風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的后果都可以用金錢來估量。
還有其他一些情況是不可能進(jìn)行這種估量的。比如選擇一輛新車，或者從餐館菜單中點(diǎn)菜。這些可以被認(rèn)為是有風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的情況，不是因?yàn)槠浜蠊麜?huì)導(dǎo)致經(jīng)濟(jì)損失，而是因?yàn)槠浜蠊赡茉谄渌矫孀屓擞X得不舒服或者是不喜歡。這可能會(huì)牽涉到聲錢，也可能不會(huì)，但總的來說，后果不是用金錢而是用其他更具人情味的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)來估量的。
純粹風(fēng)險(xiǎn)和投機(jī)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)
純粹風(fēng)險(xiǎn)包括損失或者充其量是收支相抵的情況。其后果只能對(duì)我們不利，或者讓我們處于跟事件發(fā)生前一樣的情況下。車禍、工廠的火災(zāi)、商場(chǎng)貨物的偷竊、或者是工傷，這些風(fēng)險(xiǎn)都是不能獲利的純粹風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。
與之相對(duì)的是投機(jī)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，這種風(fēng)險(xiǎn)是有可能獲利的。股票投資就是一個(gè)很好的例子。這種投資可能有損失或者可能收支相抵，但是投資的目的是為了獲利。
基本風(fēng)險(xiǎn)和特定風(fēng)險(xiǎn)
基本風(fēng)險(xiǎn)是指那些由超出個(gè)人甚至是群體的原因引起的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。而且很多人都能感受到基本風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的影響。這類風(fēng)險(xiǎn)包括地震、水災(zāi)、饑荒、火山及其他自然災(zāi)難。然而，把基本風(fēng)險(xiǎn)局限于自然危險(xiǎn)是不準(zhǔn)確的。社會(huì)變革，政治干涉和戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)都可以被認(rèn)為是基本風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。
與這種非人為而有廣泛影響的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)相對(duì)的，我們說是特定風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。特定風(fēng)險(xiǎn)在起因和影響兩方面都更加與人相關(guān)。它包括我們已經(jīng)提到過的很多風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，例如火災(zāi)、偷竊、工傷以及車禍。所以這些風(fēng)險(xiǎn)由個(gè)人引起并且最終影響到個(gè)人。
風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的管理
Over the past few decades we have seen a steady movement towards a more managerial response to these forms of risk. What has emerged is the discipline of risk management. We could define risk management as "the identification, analysis and economic control of those risks which can threaten the assets or earning capacity of an enterprise."
This definition is valuable because it highlights the structured approach which is called for if risks to the business environment are to be managed.
The three-fold nature of risk management is highlighted in the definition. Risks must be identified before they can be measured, and only after their impact has been evaluated can we decide on the most effective method of control.
However we decide to control risk, it must be "economic." There is no point in spending ten pounds to control a risk which can only ever cost five pounds. There will always be a point where spending on risk control has stop.
The definition mentions the assets and earning capacity of an organization. These assets can be physical or human; they are both important and risk management must be seen to have a part to play in both. However, risks do not only strike at assets directly and for this reason the definition also mentions the earning capacity of an enterprise.
Note that the definition uses the word "enterprise" rather than a more restrictive word such as "company" or "manufacturer". The principles of risk management are just as applicable in the service sectors as they are in the manufacturing sectors, and are of equal importance in the public and private sectors of the economy.
When considering risk identification we must remember to take the broad view. We are not solely concerned with what can be insured, or even with what can be controlled. We start from the very basic question, "How can the assets or earning capacity of the enterprise be threatened?" Starting from this position does not place any constraint on us as to what kind of risks we are looking for. We must begin the task in an unblinking manner and identify the whole host of ways in which an organization may be impeded from achieving its objectives.
We could say that there are at least two essentials if risk identification is to be effective.
Firstly, risk identification must be importantly recognized within an enterprise. When this is case, it is often marked down as a task within the job descriptions of a particular manager.
Secondly, the person responsible for risk identification must be armed with the relevant "tools of the trade" and must make use of them.
Once it has been identified that there is a risk, steps have to be taken to measure the potential impact of that risk on the organization. In a practical sense the measurement of risk starts with the gathering of information, followed by tile analysis of past experience, and then moves on to see what the data tells us about the level of frequency and severity of the risk to which an organization is exposed.
We can split the whole area of risk control into physical and financial control.
Physical risk control
We are concerned here with physical steps which can be taken in order to control risk. The first step must be to reduce the level of the risk as far as possible. This means both the chance that something will happen and the severity of the incident, should it occur. There are at least two ways in which we could understand risk reduction.
Pre-loss risk reduction
It is possible to take steps before any event has occurred to minimize risk. The essence of pre-loss reduction of risk is that the effects of the loss are anticipated and steps are taken to ensure that they are kept to a minimum.
Wearing a car seatbelt is a good, personal example. There has been no loss, but the possible effect of a loss has been anticipated and the pre-loss risk reduction step of wearing a belt has been taken.
The use of safety guards on machinery, is an industrial equivalent. There has been no injury, but steps have been taken to reduce the risk of injury.
Post-loss risk control
This form of risk control imagines that the risk has occurred and takes steps to minimize the effect of the loss. The use of automatic fire sprinkler systems fits into this category. Once the fire has started, the sprinklers operate to reduce the impact of the fire.
Financial risk control
We now turn our attention to financial mechanisms which can be used to control risk. These can be divided into two categories.
Risk retention
Once the risk has been identified and controlled in some physical way, it will be necessary to consider how the effects are to be financed, should the worst happen.
In certain situations, it may be wise to retain the risk rather than to seek another form of protection, such as insurance. We have already mentioned the problems associated with insuring high frequency, low severity events and they certainly fall into the self-retention category. The cost of these events could be paid for out of current income and passed on to the customer via the price of the product (or service) , which is offered by the organization. Alternatively a fund could be established, out of which the losses are to be paid.
Risk transfer
Insurance is a risk transfer mechanism by which an organization can exchange its uncertainty for certainty. The uncertainty experienced would include whether a loss will occur, when it will take place, how severe it will be and how frequent there might be in a year. This uncertainty makes it very difficult to budget and so the organization seeks ways of controlling the financial effect of the risk. Insurance offers the opportunity to exchange this uncertain loss for a certain loss: the insurance premium. The organization agrees to pay a fixed premium, in return, the insurance company agrees to meet any losses which fall within the terms of the policy. This is a risk transfer mechanism which is of immense value not only to industry, but also to individuals.
在過去的幾十年我們已經(jīng)看到對(duì)于這些風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的管理方法越來越趨于穩(wěn)定。出現(xiàn)了風(fēng)險(xiǎn)管理的原則。我們可以把風(fēng)險(xiǎn)管理定義為“對(duì)那些會(huì)威脅企業(yè)資產(chǎn)和收入能力的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)進(jìn)行識(shí)別、分析和經(jīng)濟(jì)控制”。
這個(gè)定義十分有用，因?yàn)樗鼜?qiáng)調(diào)，如果商業(yè)環(huán)境出現(xiàn)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)而必須進(jìn)行管理時(shí)，要用系統(tǒng)的方法來管理。
定義中已經(jīng)強(qiáng)調(diào)了風(fēng)險(xiǎn)管理的三方面。風(fēng)險(xiǎn)在估計(jì)前必須先識(shí)別，只有估計(jì)出它們的影響后，我們才能決定出控制它們的最有效的方法。
不管我們決定怎樣控制風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，都必須是“經(jīng)濟(jì)”的�；ㄙM(fèi)10英磅去控制只需花費(fèi)5英磅的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)是沒有意義的，停止控制風(fēng)險(xiǎn)才有意義。
定義涉及一個(gè)組織機(jī)構(gòu)的資產(chǎn)和收人能力。這些資產(chǎn)可以是物質(zhì)的也可以是人力的，兩者都很重要。而且必須看到，風(fēng)險(xiǎn)管理對(duì)這兩者都起作用。然而風(fēng)險(xiǎn)不只是直接影響資產(chǎn)，為此定義中也涉及了企業(yè)的收人能力。
要注意定義中用的詞是“企業(yè)”而不是用其他的像“公司”或“制造商”這樣限制性的詞。風(fēng)險(xiǎn)管理的原則在服務(wù)部門的應(yīng)用跟在制造部門的應(yīng)用是一樣的，并且在社會(huì)公共領(lǐng)域和私人領(lǐng)域中同等重要。
就風(fēng)險(xiǎn)識(shí)別而言，我們必須記得要從宏觀上來看。我們不僅只是關(guān)心什么能被保，或者什么能被控制。我們從最基本的問題開始，“企業(yè)的資產(chǎn)和收入能力怎樣受到威脅?”從這點(diǎn)出發(fā)絲毫不會(huì)限制我們要尋找什么樣的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。我們必須毫不隱瞞地開始這項(xiàng)任務(wù)，積極識(shí)別妨礙一個(gè)企業(yè)達(dá)到其目標(biāo)的所有方面。
我們可以說，要有效進(jìn)行風(fēng)險(xiǎn)識(shí)別至少有兩個(gè)要點(diǎn)。
第一，必須認(rèn)識(shí)到風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的識(shí)別在企業(yè)內(nèi)部是很重要的。這時(shí)，這一點(diǎn)經(jīng)常被納入某個(gè)經(jīng)理的工作范疇。
第二，負(fù)責(zé)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)識(shí)別的.人員必須配備有關(guān)的“技術(shù)工具”，并且必須利用這些工具。
一旦識(shí)別有風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，就要采取措施估計(jì)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)對(duì)企業(yè)的潛在影響。風(fēng)險(xiǎn)估計(jì)的實(shí)際做法是首先要收集信息，然后分析以往經(jīng)驗(yàn)，再通過數(shù)據(jù)掌握一個(gè)企業(yè)所暴露出來的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)頻率和(或)幅度。
我們可以把整個(gè)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)領(lǐng)域劃分為物質(zhì)上的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)控制和財(cái)務(wù)上的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)控制。
物質(zhì)上的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)控制
這里我們關(guān)心的是可以采取什么樣的物質(zhì)措施控制風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。第一步必須是盡可能地減輕風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的程度。一旦事件發(fā)生，就意味著事情發(fā)生的可能性以及事情的嚴(yán)重程度。我們可以看到至少有兩種方法可以減少風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。
防損
在事件發(fā)生前采取措施把風(fēng)險(xiǎn)降到最低是可能的。防損就是預(yù)測(cè)損失并采取措施以保證風(fēng)險(xiǎn)保持在最低。
對(duì)此，開車系安全帶就是一個(gè)很好的個(gè)人的例子。這就是進(jìn)行了風(fēng)險(xiǎn)預(yù)測(cè)，然后采取了系安全帶的防災(zāi)舉措。預(yù)測(cè)了可能發(fā)生的損失，系上安全帶就是采取了損失控制措施。
機(jī)器上運(yùn)用安全防御措施也是一樣。沒有發(fā)生傷亡，但還是會(huì)采取措施減少傷亡危險(xiǎn)。
減損
這種風(fēng)險(xiǎn)控制則是想象風(fēng)險(xiǎn)已經(jīng)發(fā)生，然后要采取措施把損失造成的影響降到最低�；馂�(zāi)自動(dòng)灑水系統(tǒng)的運(yùn)用就屬于這種風(fēng)險(xiǎn)控制�！┗馂�(zāi)開始，灑水系統(tǒng)就會(huì)啟動(dòng)以減少火災(zāi)造成的影響。
財(cái)務(wù)上的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)控制
我們現(xiàn)在要注意看的是控制風(fēng)險(xiǎn)的財(cái)務(wù)方法。它可以分為兩類。
風(fēng)險(xiǎn)自留
一旦風(fēng)險(xiǎn)被確認(rèn)并且用某種自然方法進(jìn)行了控制，就有必要考慮如果發(fā)生最糟的情形將要怎樣用金錢計(jì)算出其產(chǎn)生的影響。
在某些情況下，保留風(fēng)險(xiǎn)而不去尋求另一種保護(hù)，例如保險(xiǎn)，是明智的。我們已經(jīng)提到過一些跟高頻率低幅度的事件有關(guān)的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，它們肯定歸入自我保留一類。這些事件的費(fèi)用可以從現(xiàn)有收入中扣除，并且以企業(yè)提供的產(chǎn)品(或服務(wù))的價(jià)錢傳遞給消費(fèi)者。或者可以建立一筆基金，從中支出損失。
風(fēng)險(xiǎn)轉(zhuǎn)移
保險(xiǎn)是一種風(fēng)險(xiǎn)轉(zhuǎn)移過程。通過它，一個(gè)企業(yè)可以把它的不確定性轉(zhuǎn)換成確定性。常有的不確定性包括：損失是否會(huì)發(fā)生，什么時(shí)候會(huì)發(fā)生，會(huì)有多嚴(yán)重，一個(gè)時(shí)期內(nèi)會(huì)發(fā)生多少次。這種不確定性使得預(yù)算變得非常困難，所以企業(yè)找尋控制財(cái)務(wù)支出的方法以及把不確定損失轉(zhuǎn)換成確定損失的機(jī)會(huì)，即保險(xiǎn)保費(fèi)。企業(yè)同意支付一定數(shù)額的保費(fèi)，反過來，保險(xiǎn)公司同意承擔(dān)保單條款范圍內(nèi)的任何損失。這是一個(gè)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)轉(zhuǎn)移過程，不只是對(duì)某行業(yè)而且對(duì)個(gè)人都很有利。
【風(fēng)險(xiǎn)主題短文及譯文學(xué)英語】相關(guān)文章：
Wow factor英語短文學(xué)習(xí)07-09
午夜隨筆短文學(xué)07-09
「中英對(duì)譯」搞笑的英語短語08-12
英語短文07-08
大學(xué)六級(jí)英語聽力短文學(xué)習(xí)技巧10-30
英語介詞翻譯的基本譯法05-24
油價(jià)上“漲”英語怎么譯07-14
英語聽力材料「中英對(duì)譯」08-12