There are two essay questions for module 2. Choose one of the questions to write your essay. Question 1: Discuss whether the events of 9/11 and beyond presage an era of ‘new terrorism’. What problems does this pose in terms of risk management? Question 2: Critically discuss the meaning of ‘organisational culture’ and the role it can play in reducing the risks of crises or disasters in an organisation. [You are advised not to use the term risk, crisis and disaster interchangeably]. It is crucial to take a position vis-à-vis your essay question and then argue throughout the essay persuasively using theory and evidence. Question 1 has two parts and so does question 2. Make sure you engage with the question directly. For question 1: aim to engage with the theories on risk, risk management, risk communication, perception or world views in order to explain the phenomenon of terrorism. DO not select more than two case studies. I prefer one, this should enable a detailed analysis of the case. Students tend to become very descriptive for this assignment. Make sure you engage with the relevant theories in order to answer your question. For question 2: aim to engage with the theories on organisational culture, organisation (specific to the case study that you will select), safety culture, and crises or disaster (specific to your case study). Please do not make your essay descriptive. You will lose mark. Aim to engage with the relevant theories identified in your assignment (mentioned above). Theories have to be meaningfully engaged by which I mean relevant to your case study. Engaging with the essay question, key theories and bringing evidence through proper citations will help to overcome the problem of descriptiveness.

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