Crisis management in pr

STAMFORD COLLEGE

DMC 115
PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
CRISIS MANAGEMENT IN PR

PREPARED BY : MS GOMALA SUKUMARAN

DEFINITION
Crisis Management is
the systematic attempt
to avoid organizational
crisis, or to manage those
crises events that do
occur.

WHAT IS CRISIS ?
• Crisis is major, unpredictable event
that threatens to harm an operation,
staff, customers, reputation or the
legal and financial status of an
organization.
• Crisis can strike any time and
during this Situation it tends to
be - Confusion, Uncertainty, fear.


CONTINUED…
• A crisis is an abnormal
situation, or even
perception, which is beyond the
scope of everyday business and
which threats the operation of an
organization.
• Crisis is an unpredictable events
but it is unexpected.

THREE COMMON ELEMENTS OF
CRISIS

• A threat to
organization
• The
•A

element

short

the

of

surprises

decision

time


Types of crisis :


ACCIDENTS AND NATURAL
EVENTS
• An accident or natural event of
catastrophic magnitude can strike
unexpectedly – whether it’s an
earthquake, typhoon, tornado, hurric
ane, blizzard, flood, fire, or some
other disaster.
• The impact of accidents and natural
events can also be felt indirectly
such as a break in supply – chain
linkages.

HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL
DISASTERS
• Some health and environmental –
related disasters though not
necessarily caused by a company, are
directly related to it. The company
is responsible or is perceived to be
responsible to deal with it.
• Some catastrophic accidents such as
in the Bhopal Gas Tragedy in 1984,
are expensive to fix and cause real
damage to the people.

TECHNOLOGICAL BREAKDOWNS

• A break down in technology could put a
halt in the functioning of an organization.
• The crisis potential of technological
breakdowns grows as businesses become
more dependent on computers to
communicate, store information, conduct
research, buy and sell.

ECONOMIC AND MARKET FORCES
• The fortunes of all businesses are
to some extent bound to the ups
and downs of the economic cycle.
• Down phases are particularly
dangerous for companies with fixed
high costs, such as heavy
investments in plants and
equipment.

EMPLOYEES
• All companies depend on people to get things
done.
• With a greater need for speed and flexibility,
employees are being given greater discretion
over decisions.
• An employee acting without close supervision
or consultation may throw the organization
into crisis

THREE MAINSTAGES

PHASES

Pre crisis

Crisis
response


Postcrisis.

STAGES IN CRISIS MANAGEMENT

PRE-CRISIS PHASE
• The pre-crisis phase is concerned with prevention and
preparation.
• Prevention involves seeking to reduce known risks that could
lead to a crisis. This is part of an Organization’s risk
management program.
• Preparation involves creating the crisis management
• Plan, selecting and training the crisis management team, and
conducting exercises to test the Crisis management plan and
crisis management team.

CRISIS RESPONSE
• The crisis response is what management does and
says after the crisis hits. Public relations plays a
critical role in the crisis response by helping to
develop the messages that are sent to various
publics.
• A great deal of research has examined the crisis
response. That research has been divided into two
sections:
– (1) the initial crisis response and
– (2) Reputation repair and behavioral intentions

POST-CRISIS PHASE
• In the post-crisis phase, the organization
is returning to business as usual. The
crisis is no longer
• the focal point of management’s
attention but still requires some
attention.


RISE OF THE CONTROVERSY
• State FDA Commissioner Uttam Khobragade said a group of
people approached him with chocolates that had worms in
them.
• Sebastian Fernandez had purchased Cadbury Dairy Milk
chocolate from a shop at Pick and Pay, Vile Parle.
• Fernandez discovered that the chocolate (Batch No28F3I10703)
had worms in it.
• Fernandez complained to the shopkeeper Jitendra Shah who
later informed Pravin Marve, vice-president, Andheri Vyapar
Manch.
• Marve then contacted the FDA and gave them the sample. FDA
Joint Commissioner Hindurao Salunkhe said Cadbury's Talegaon
plant will also be inspected.

EFFECTS OF THE CONTROVERSY ON
CADBURY
• The state Food and Drug Administration has ordered
abduction of Cadbury's Dairy Milk chocolates from all
over Maharashtra after worms were found in two of
them in Mumbai.
• bad storage practices by retailers and distributors that
had led to the worms.
• Festival season sales (Cadbury sells almost 1,000 tones
of chocolates during Diwali) plummeted 30 per cent.


ROLE OF THE PUBLIC RELATIONS
• NOT DENYING THE FACT
 Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration had
given a clean chit to the company's two plants in the
state.
 tell consumers about improper storage
 Bharat Puri, Cadbury's mild-mannered MD, went to
media offices around the country



(cont…)

• TAKING PRECAUTIONS
 company launched Project Vishwas, a retail
education programme.(generating awareness and
providing assistance in improving storage quality.)
“Steps to ensure quality & regain the confidence”
 new double packaging even for the smallest offering
 wrapped in aluminium foil and enclosed in a poly
flow pack, which was sealed on all sides.
 company also carried out quality checks


(cont…)

GAINING BACK TRUST
AB played a pivotal role in all
communication relating to Cadbury's
products and brands
created a campaign which aimed for
both rational and emotional appeal.



BENEFITS OF A GOOD CAMPAIGN
• The company bounced back soon after the
campaign hit the screens. Between October
2003 and January 2004, Cadbury's value share
melted from 73 per cent in to 69.4 per cent.
The recovery began in May 2004 when
Cadbury's value share went up to 71 per cent.


CRISIS MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS
Although no two Crisis Management Programs are
exactly alike, there are critical aspects of any
Crisis Management Program. The need for an
effective Crisis Management Program cannot be
underestimated. Such a program provides for:
• Effective coordination of activities among the
organizations having a management/response
role;
• Early warning and clear instructions to all
concerned if a crisis occurs;
• Continued assessment of actual and potential
consequences of the crisis.
• Continuity of business operations during and
immediately after the crisis.

FOUR STAGES OF CRISIS
MANAGEMENT

• Compliance
• Preparedness
• Training & Resource
Development
• Information Management

COMPLIANCE
• An effective system for compliance can be
developed only if there is adequate
awareness of what laws and regulations
pertain to the organization’s operation.
• In order to accomplish this task, a
survey of all operations should be
undertaken to identify areas in need of
attention, establishing a list of
potential crisis situations and
documenting current efforts.
• Once the survey program has been
developed and implemented, it must be
evaluated and kept up-to-date.

CONTINUED…
• The survey program is the initial step, toward reducing
vulnerability. Next, the operation must be organized.
All levels of management must become part of the
program. This can be achieved by :
• Assigning a senior manager to a position like that of a
“ Crisis Management Program, Director” who is directly
responsible to top management & the board of directors.
• Preparing an agenda for senior staff and board of
director meetings that includes a discussion of crisis
management preparedness as a mandatory item.
• Making crisis management planning issues part of the
strategic planning process.
• Communicating compliance through all levels of the
organization through company policy and procedures.

PREPAREDNESS
Preparedness used in the broadest context means any and all measures taken
to prevent, prepare for, respond, mitigate and recover from a crisis.
Preparedness consists of four critical aspects:
•

Preparation and Prevention: These refer to any set of activities that prevent a
crisis, reduce the chance of a crisis happening, or reduce the damaging effects
of a crisis.

•

Detection and Incident Classification: These include actions taken to identify,
assess and classify the severity of a crisis.

•

Response and Mitigation: These include actions taken to save lives, prevent
further damage and reduce the effects of the crisis.

•

Reentry and Recovery: These include actions taken to return to a normal or an
even safer situation following the crisis.


TRAINING AND RETRAINING
The training of the Crisis
Management/Response Organization is
one of the critical success factors that
must be addressed if an adequate
response is to be achieved. An approach
to preparing effective training programs
should consist of :


TASK ANALYSIS
• When designing an integrated
training program, the
skills, knowledge and procedures
required for satisfactory
performance of each task must be
determined.

LESSON DEVELOPMENT

• Learning objectives are defined from
the skills, knowledge and procedures
developed during task analysis.
• Instructional plans are then prepared
to support the learning objectives.


INSTRUCTION
• Lessons are systematically presented
using appropriate instructional
methods. Instruction may include
lecture, self-paced or group-paced
mediated instruction, simulation and
team training.

EVALUATION
• Performance standards and
evaluation criteria are developed
from the learning objectives.
• Each trainee's performance is
evaluated during the course and
during field performance testing.

Information management
 The crisis management process doesn't end just because you finished the
crisis management plan, are in compliance, have involved management and
trained the staff.
 In order to facilitate planning requirements, a record of all initiatives should
be retained. These records serve to document the accomplishments,
requirements, commitments and reports relating to various program
requirements. The identification of commitments in the areas of
compliance, emergency preparedness and training is vital.
 The establishment of a defined information management system structure
will ensure that documentation will be available when needed.


COMMON WEAKNESSES IN CRISIS
MANAGEMENT PLANNING

• No systematic collection of planning information.

• No systematic dissemination of planning information.
• Failure to identify and establish an incident command
structure.
• No, or minimal, coordination with effected entities.
Poor communications with the community,
neighboring industries, identified support entities can
lead to confusion and chaos during an emergency.


CONTINUED…
• Lack of, or poorly defined, organizational responsibilities.
• Once developed the program is not maintained or is, at
best, poorly maintained.
• The program lacks simple, easy-to-use supplemental
materials that can be used as a quick reference guide
during an emergency.
• Failure in the dissemination of the plan to the proper
authorities.


How to deal with a crisis ?
Never lie or claim ignorance on a particular matter. The
media are extremely good at recognizing and uncovering
lies, and the resulting story about a company’s deceit is
often more newsworthy than the original issue.
Immediately gather your senior management and fully
describe to them the problem and how you intend to
address it.
Contact your attorneys and make them aware of exactly
what is going on. Do not try to "sugar coat" the
circumstances. They must know the full extent of the
problem.


CONTINUED…
Decide how you will communicate the problem to
the public, your customers, suppliers,
shareholders, and others. It is essential that you
be proactive and communicate with all
constituencies.
Contact other interested parties such as lenders,
regulators, and organizations/associations that
represent your industry. Again, be as clear and
accurate as you possibly can be with the details.

10 CRISIS MISTAKES
1. Don't fall apart. Unraveling is no way to hold things together. If you
become a basket case, everyone else will, too.
2. Don't freeze or become immobilized. CM requires action, not
paralysis.
3. Don't run away -- physically, mentally or emotionally. The first keys
to recovery from mishap are presence and visibility.
4. Don't ignore the problem. Pretending bad things didn't happen
won't make them go away. It will only make you look like a fool
on top of everything else.


CONTINUED…
5. Don't deny the obvious. Denial is a form of lying.
6. Don't attempt a cover-up. It usually makes things
worse.
7. Avoid blaming and finger-pointing. These are
excuses, not solutions.
8. Don't procrastinate. Delaying action only adds to
the problem.

CONTINUED…
9.

Don't just keep on doing what you've been
doing. When something goes wrong, more of
the same is not an antidote.

10. Don't give up. Once you surrender, there is no
possibility for triumph. During the dark
hours, avoiding costly mistakes can give you a leg
up on out-lasting disaster.


CONCLUSION
• Crisis management deals with incidents of major impact.
• Failing to plan for incidents may result in casualties and
poor safety procedures, with many potential losses
including money, equipment, reputation, staff morale,
market share and ultimately loss of the business itself.
• So, it is the one that saves lives, property and other
assets.


CONCLUSION
A crisis management plan generates order out
of chaos. It needs strong leadership by welltrained and rehearsed individuals. Everyone
within an organization should know what his
or her role is in a crisis and should be prepare
to deal with one.


Crisis management in pr

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