The Greatest Risk In the HEART of the SEA The tragedy of the whaleship Essex was the owners' giving George Pollard Jr. the captain's commission. Risk is a measure of exposure to danger in a situation. Risk is extremely important to understand in a project, its management, its investments and daily life situations. As an individual, risk can be a choice, like riding our bike into oncoming traffic, or we can be exposed to risk without even knowing it, like a chemical company illegally dumping waste into your drinking water. Understanding risk is an important concept for achieving your goals. If one is able to identify the risk, the risk itself could be eliminated or reduced to achieve a positive outcome. The owners of the Essex must have been very successful in the way they ran their operations, given that the Essex was one of the oldest ships. to Nantucket during the ship's final voyage. This provides little incentive for owners to invest in the ship or the crew. Risk-taking pays off, but companies must behave conscientiously and paternalistic employment practices will develop, leading to employee loyalty. (Matsushita, 1988). When the Essex left port for the last time, the ship and crew had every chance of success against them. “What is bought with money or goods is bought by work, just as much as what we acquire by the work of our own bodies. They contain the value of a certain quantity of labor which we exchange for what is supposed at the time to contain the value of an equal quantity. (Smith, 1991). The owners essentially placed little value on the captain and crew through their actions; examples are lack of training of the crew, captain and mates, dilapidated resources on the ship...... middle of paper ...... Management practice. In PF Drucker, The Practice of Management. New York: Harper & Row. Goleman, D. (1997). Emotional intelligence. In D. Goleman, Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam. Maslow, A. (1987). Motivation and personality. In A. Maslow, Motivation and Personality. New York: Harper & Row. Matsushita, K. (1988). Quest for prosperity. In K. Matsushita, Quest for Prosperity. Kyoto, Japan: PHP Institute. Philbrick, N. (2000). IN THE HEART OF THE SEA The tragedy of the whaler Essex. In N. Philbrick, IN THE HEART OF THE SEA The tragedy of the whaler Essex. London, England: Penguin Books. Smith, A. (1991). The wealth of nations. In A. Smith, The Wealth of Nations. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books. Taylor, F.W. (1911). The principles of scientific management. In FW Taylor, The Principles of Scientific Management. New York: Harper & Row.