Step 1: Problem Discovery
Thabiso Manyane is the founder of We Want Your Books (Pty) Ltd (hereafter WWYB). Thabiso studied
at the University of Johannesburg several years ago. His parents did not always have the funds to
purchase him the necessary textbooks and he had to make alternative arrangements to get the books
he needed. When he finished his studies, he felt that he wanted to make a change by assisting students
who might be in the same situation. He started WWYB, and asked students who had finished with their
studies to donate their old textbooks which he will then sell at a very low price to struggling students.
Initially this started out as a small business, but it has now grown so much that he has appointed
employees and is currently renting a small shop on campus where the students can purchase
secondhand textbooks.
In 2024 Thabiso saw a decrease in the number of sales. He received less donations, and when books
were donated, they were outdated versions. Some of the textbooks were not in good condition and he
could thus not sell them. He had to retrench two of the employees as he simply did not have the money
to pay them their salaries. He is also thinking of moving to other premises as the rent is cheaper, but he
signed a five-year contract in 2019 for the current shop. It also appears that more students are
purchasing soft copies of books, and therefore they cannot donate the books. A lot of students are also
using government funding, and the funding also provides them with new textbooks. There are also more
students on campus that attempt to sell their old textbooks, rather than donating them to WWYB.
Thabiso approached you to assist him with risk management, as he heard that you are currently in third
year at university where you recently did a risk management unit in Governance and Control.
You are required to:
1. Identify five types of risks that WWYB is currently faced with.
2. Explain to Thabiso whether his risk tolerance for these risks should be high or low.
3. Explain to Thabiso who the stakeholders are, that will be affected by these risks.
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