Crisis Communications
Crisis communication is the most important aspect of external and internal organization communication. This type of communication ranges from image restoration campaigns to employee turnover. In the articles that I have analyzed, I discovered many examples of crisis communications and its importance. I will discuss the Bridgestone-Firestone Corporation’s image restoration campaign and explain Benoit’s theory of image restoration. Also, I will discuss how crisis communications fits into public relations models. Two examples for discussion will be how supervisors should convey bad-news to their employees, and group communication within employee turnover. My last example for this discussion will be Bill Clinton’s image repair discourse.
This essay will analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of crisis communications and its place within an organization. As stated earlier, I will discuss different examples retrieved from five scholarly articles that are relevant to this topic. I hope to convey the importance of crisis communications.
In the article “Blowout! Firestone’s Image Restoration Campaign” Blaney, Benoit, and Brazeal (2002) discuss how Firestone failed in its recovery efforts. The authors claim that Firestone’s attempt to shift blame was “poorly conceived.” (p. 379) Also, they claim the use of celebrities to support their products and reputation was unsuccessful due to the obvious financial relationships between them. This discussion leads up to the application of Benoit’s image restoration theory. (2002). This theory states that “communicators who need to restore damaged reputations have five general rhetorical options: denial, evading responsibility, reducing offensiveness, corrective action, and mortification.” (p.380) The author’s conclude that this case study displays “denial and, sadly, concealment of incriminating data, are common responses to wrongful action. Had corrective action been implemented immediately, it seems likely that many deaths and injuries could have been avoided.” (p.388-389)
This article gives a great example of how important crisis communications is. The failed image restoration campaign still haunts this corporation. Blaney, Benoit, and Brazeal make a valid point of why this campaign was unsuccessful. Organizations must educate their selves on proper crisis communicatio...
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...an make an event that may end someone’s career, turn into a mere smudge on their character.
With this discussion in mind, I am assured that crisis communications is the most important aspect of external and internal organization communication. The studies and examples given by the scholarly resources establish this point.
Works Cited:
Blaney, Joseph R., Benoit, William L. & Brazeal, LeAnn M. (2002). Blowout!: Firestone’s image restoration campaign. Public Relations Review, 28, 379-392.
Cox, Stephen A. (1999). Group communication and employee turnover: How coworkers encourage peers to voluntarily exit. The Southern Communication Journal, 64, 181-192.
Wagoner, Ruth & Waldron, Vincent R. (1999). How supervisors convey routine bad news: Facework at UPS. The Southern Communication Journal, 64, 193-209.
Guiniven, John E. (2002). Dealing with activism in Canada: an ideal cultural fit for the two-way symmetrical public relations model. Public Relations Review, 28, 393-402.
Benoit, William L. (1998). Bill Clinton in the Starr chamber. American Communications Journal. 12, (2). retrieved from http://acjournal.org/holdings/vol2/iss2/editorials, Apr. 21 2005.
Harmening, W. (2014). "Crisis communication" In Harmening, W. (2014). Crisis intervention: The criminal justice response to chaos, mayhem, and disorder. Boston, MA: Pearson
Nelson, Lauren. "Crisis Communications Case Study Tylenol." BCMpedia. A Wiki Glossary for Business Continuity Management (BCM) and Disaster Recovery (DR). 29 Apr. 2010. Web. 08 Feb. 2011. .
Crisis communication is an area of public relations that I find really fascinating. I enjoy learning about the proper steps that a professional takes when a company is pitted against a major crisis, and what they do in the face of chaos to turn the situation around and use the crisis in their own favor. One case study that exemplifies the degree to which a crisis can be managed effectively and a company can gain more respect by doing so is the case of the Chicago Tylenol Murders in 1982.
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There are many definitions for what is considered to be a crisis. Alan Jay Zaremba, author of the textbook ”Organizational Communication,” combines several definitions of the word to conclude that a crisis is “an incident that occurs unexpectedly, could damage an organization’s reputation, values, and/or performance, and requires effective communication. (Zaremba, 2010) In the case of the Nuance Group, their current situation completely blindsided the organization, was a nightmare for their reputation, and communication was now the key element in restoring their image. This was indeed a crisis.
Indeed, crises occur, inevitably, throughout society; emerging due to some form of accident, miscalculation, or possibly just random chance. One such example is that of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, also known as the BP oil spill, occurring on April 20th, 2010. To clarify, the event is known as the largest marine oil spill in history, killing eleven people, and discharging nearly 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Certainly, the crisis spawned a substantial amount of outrage, backlash, and controversy due to the calamitous effects of the incident. Through unambiguous efforts, BP (British Petroleum) attempted to calm the public’s reaction to the situation by using strategically sophisticated skills in public relations. Through my analysis, I will assess the ways in which BP attempted to manage the crisis with regards to the ethical values portrayed, as well as the overall effectiveness of the responses. Therefore, I will commence by providing background through a brief
The chosen scenario is the first one provided, regarding the accusations that a needle was found in a signature sandwich of a local fast food chain. This case is interesting since the organization is dealing with a rumor, however, before the issue escalates into what could become a potential crisis, the organization should communicate with stakeholders appropriately. Overall, the restaurant should use the strategies provided by the Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT). First, the fast-food chain should explain that the information is a rumor, thus it will “seek to remove any connection between the crisis and the organization.” (Coombs, 2012, p.156) Then, use bolstering strategies to “build a positive
"Crisis management in today's business environment: HR's strategic role", Lockwood, Nancy R. Dec 2005, http://www.allbusiness.com/human-resources/851086-1.html
Ulmer, RR, Sellnow, TL & Seeger, MW 2007, Effective crisis communication, Thousand Oakes: Sage Publications.
Communications is fundamental in any plan. During terrorist incidents it crucial to get accurate information to the public. This information allows for individuals to make well-informed decisions in times of disaster. Research has shown according to Newman and Clarke (2008), that the victims of sudden disasters do not panic and if they do, the panic is short-lived. Rather, victims try to help each other. Emergency managers need the media to explain to the public the current situation as it is happening, although during a disaster a growing number of people get their news from social media. “This is why major disaster management centers maintain close links with the press: to make sure that the coverage is accurate, that it does not exaggerate
When a crisis occurs, a chain reaction of events follows. Clearly, the direction of the chain reaction depends on the crisis. During the project, the first challenge was to search for a company to analyze their damage control strategy. However, there was difficulty making a decision until finding a recent Pizza Hut scandal. A district manager of Pizza Hut found himself the subject of a scandal. In fact, a surveillance camera caught him urinating in the kitchen sink. Indeed, the research into Pizza Hut’s strategy found that they saw the video then they let the district manager go; the news media broke the news then they sent a written message by television expressing their regret; the health department shut them down temporarily then they shut the restaurant down permanently.
In the evaluation of strategic management of public relations, both concepts of risk communication and situational theory can be integrated into the above-mentioned model. Risk communication is an ongoing process that builds the foundation for crisis communication. Particularly, the risk analysis process consists of hazard identification, risk assessment, significance of risks and communicating risk information.
A crisis can be defined as an extraordinary event, disclosure, or set of circumstances that threatens, or is perceived to threaten, the welfare of one or more staff, customers and stakeholders, or the integrity, objectives and reputation of the organisation. Crisis management is the application of strategies designed to help an organization deal with a sudden and significant negative event. (Janes, T 2010)
The communication process is not something that begins when a crisis rears its ugly head rather it is a process that takes place in preparing for a crisis before it happens. While the term crisis represents a blanket term used to describe many situations, each situation is unique, thus presenting different obstacles to overcome. However, with a well-established advanced plan in place an organization places itself in a position to overcome and work around obstacles. The development of a comprehensive crisis management plan is one achieved through effective communication where each member of the crisis management team has an advanced shared understanding of his or her role and responsibility during a time of crisis (du Pr'e, 2005).
The discipline of public relations is a modern profession which has been in existence for only close to a century; however, it has already taken an important role in the fields of business, government, entertainment and non-profit organizations including educational institutions and healthcare organizations. Public relations professionals are required to have excellent organizational, interpersonal and communication skills and have the ability to persuade the public. It is imperative for PR professionals to effectively communicate with its public in order to establish and maintain a positive relationship. Furthermore, public relations professionals must have the ability to work under pressure and effectively manage crisis which may have detrimental effect on the company and the public it serves. State purpose of paper and an overview of what will be covered in the introduction