Chapter 15: Crisis Communication Emergency Response Communication o Crisis Management Team/Plan Image Restoration Messages Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Organizational Crisis Defined Organizational Crisis: A major unpredictable event that has the potential to severely damage the organi- zation’s employees, customers, and reputation Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Crisis Communication Emergency Response Communication: Messages designed to protect employees & neighbors, alert emergency responders, and inform responsible authorities Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Crisis Communication Image Restoration Messages: Communication that explains the incident in a way that restores the organization’s image Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

A Typology of Crises Natural disasters Malevolence Technical breakdowns Human breakdowns Challenges Mega-damage Organizational misdeeds Workplace violence Rumors Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Crises Are More Frequent and Serious Than in the Past Globalization has created complex webs of financing, manufacturing, and distribution Consumer and environmental groups carefully scrutinize business and government Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Responsibilities of The Crisis Team Pre crisis planning Crisis management during the actual emergency Crisis communication with various publics including employees, community members, customers, and stockholders Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Ethical Crisis Communication Protects the health and well-being of affected publics Persuades using evidence and logic rather than appeals to emotion or ignorance True to the facts as they are understood Do you believe that global communication systems create a close linkage between effective and ethical crisis responses? Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Emergency Response Communication Initial Event: Action prescriptions, uncertainty reduction, reassurance Maintenance: Ongoing action prescriptions, uncertainty reduction, reassurance Resolution & Evaluation: Updates regarding resolution, complete understanding of causes, lessons learned Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Benoit’s Image Restoration Strategies Denial Evading of Responsibility Reducing Offensiveness Corrective Action Mortification Corporate Image Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Problem With Apologies Although the public expects a sincere apology for a crisis, managers must also consider the legal liability the company faces Ambiguous apologies omit details and avoid clear admissions of guilt What do you think of the effectiveness and ethics of the ambiguous apology? Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Methods of Apologizing Ambiguously Refer to the crisis as an “accident” Express regret with- out admitting guilt Focus on prevention without admitting guilt Are any of these forms of apology ethical? Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Guidelines for Effective Image Restoration Use multiple strategies in concert with one another Support all strategies with strong reasoning and evidence Inductive reasoning Deductive reasoning Credibility appeals Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Guidelines for Effective Image Restoration Exercise visible leadership from the highest executives Identify the target audience and select strategies accordingly Recognize the limits of persuasive communication Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Four Audiences for Crisis Communication Severity High Low Responsibility Antagonistic Audience High Bemused Audience Concerned Audience Animated Audience Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Strategic Choices for the Animated Audience Of what use are denial and shifting the blame for the animated audience? Can strategies that reduce the offensiveness of the event have a positive effect? Is corrective action a good idea for the animated audience? Why or why not? Should organizations employ mortification before animated audiences? Why or why not? Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Strategic Choices for the Bemused Audience What role can simple denial or shifting the blame play for the bemused audience? What other strategies can be used for the bemused audience? Why? Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Strategic Choices for the Concerned Audience What strategies are most effective for the concerned audience? Why? Which reducing offensiveness strategies do you recommend for the concerned audience? Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Strategic Choices for the Antagonistic Audience The antagonistic audience is the most challenging of all crisis situations Which strategies are most effective for this hostile audience? Why? Copyright © 2012, 2009, 2005 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.