Enterprise risk management and a risk-aware culture: Perspectives of faculty members at one institution

The purpose of this study is to identify how tenured and tenure-track faculty members view the role of an institution's culture in the implementation of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) in higher education institutions. Culture encompasses the shared values, beliefs, and interpretations that result from common experiences among the community. Within higher education, a risk-aware culture requires that leadership and faculty engage with one another in the planning process. This study also strives to understand faculty members' perceptions on the manner in which a university's stakeholders, and their actions, influence the successful implementation of ERM.;This study employed the conceptual framework of distributed leadership theory to analyze the interplay between a college or university's culture and the implementation of ERM. Distributed leadership theory accounts for the manner in which leadership practice is stretched over two or more leaders, how followers play an active and purposive role in leadership practice, and how the situational context directly affects all that leadership entails.;This study followed a mixed-methodology comprised of (1) a quantitative survey of 31 faculty, (2) qualitative interviews with 15 members of the faculty, and (3) document analysis of risk management implementation efforts at one institution. Based on analysis of data after coding, six primary findings emerged from the study. First, faculty defined ERM into nine categories, which included (1) policies and procedures, (2) crisis management, (3) insurance, (4) admissions, (5) student centered, (6) resources, (7) financial, (8) legal, and (9) hazards. Second, there were mixed responses from the survey and interview groups as to whether or not faculty believe the institution has an existing risk management plan and what they believe it to be. A majority of the faculty in both the interview and survey groups were unaware of the existence of any RM plan at the institution. Third, participants identified effective methods of communication, including the use of technology for effective dissemination of RM plan information. Fourth, establishing a risk-aware culture involves the establishment of trust and the existence of transparency in decision-making between leadership and faculty. Fifth, the articulation of fears from faculty regarding the disproportionate balance of power from the administration over the faculty in the decision-making aspect of RM. Sixth, in order to gamer support for RM planning, the administration must be able to relate the institutional planning of ERM to the faculty's existing strong belief in the institution's mission, which is the care and safety of other people.;In sum, this study highlights that effective ERM implementation calls on a culture that is accepting of risk awareness inasmuch as it aligns with the goals and objectives found in the institution's mission, effective communication, the establishment of trust and transparency, and the balance of power in decision-making. In practice, this study offers an understanding of how providing opportunities to align ERM with an institution's mission, as well as opportunities for faculty-administration communication and shared decision-making, might assist with ERM implementation.