Ch. 2: Lessons on Managing Crisis Uncertainty

Ch. 2: Lessons on Managing Crisis Uncertainty

-Effective Crisis Communication

The goal of Chapter 2 “is to provide some constructive advice on how to communicate in the presence of uncertainity” (pg. 17). The chapter goes on to outline 10 lessons for managing the ambiguity of crisis communication. A summary of the lessons can be found on page 30.

1. Organization members must accept that a crisis can start quickly and unexpectedly.

This sounded pretty basic to me...It’s common sense. The example used in the text was about a fire starting in a Malden Mills textile plant. Some of the company executives learned about the fire through CNN before they were notified by company representatives. Another example of crisis beginning quickly and unexpectedly is the crash of Value Jet Flight 592 in 1996.

2. Organizations should not respond to crisis with routine solutions.

For example, Exxon used its standard oil spill response plan after the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound in 1987. But Prince William Sound was a unique environment, and the usual clean-up response was not adequate for the size and location of the spill. The recovery was handled poorly, and the company’s reputation suffered because they utilized a one-size-fits-all crisis response plan.

3. Threat is perceptual.

I thought the example for this lesson, about the Y2K threat, was a bit weak. The lesson says that organizations need to develop rapport and consensus with their stakeholders about threats because “communication about potential threats helps reduce uncertainty about potential risks in the organization” (pg. 20). Basically, being open with stakeholders about the “what-if” scenarios will help reassure stakeholders that the organization is prepared for whatever happens.

4. Crisis communicators must communicate early and often following a crisis, regardless of whether or not they have critical information about the crisis.

After disaster strikes, “the public” (stakeholders, employees, victims, relatives of victims, etc) want to know what happened, why, who was affected, who was responsible, etc. Organizations need to be prepared to answer questions to reassure the public. The organization may not have much accurate, verified information available yet, but they need to have a presence and discuss what they are able to.

5. Organizations should not purposely heighten the ambiguity of a crisis to deceive or distract the public.

Communication ambiguity- multiple interpretations of an event (pg. 24)

The text explains that “ambiguity is ethical when it contributes to the complete understanding of an issue by posing alternative views that are based on complete and unbiased information that aims to inform. Ambiguity is unethical if it poses alternative interpretations using biased or incomplete information that aims to deceive.”

6. Be prepared to defend your interpretation of the evidence surrounding a crisis.

There are several areas of ambiguity that may result in further questioning and interpretation from other stakeholders in a crisis situation.

Questions of evidence- “whose scientific evidence should the public believe? (p.25)”

Questions of intent- “did the organization knowingly commit the crime? (p. 25)”

Questions of responsibility- “did the crisis originate within or outside of the organization? (p.25).

7. Without good intentions prior to a crisis, recovery is difficult or impossible.

If an organization intentionally deceives the public about the risks or potential problems associated with its product, it will be very difficult for the organization to regain public trust once the problems surface.

8. If you believe you are not responsible for a crisis, you need to build a case for who is responsible and why.

As an organization, you cannot merely point a finger at the party responsible for the crisis at hand. If you are going to make accusations and place blame you must have evidence supporting your conclusions. Making claims that your organization is not responsible for the problem, but you don’t know who is responsible also makes the company look foolish.

9. Organizations need to prepare for uncertainty through simulation and training.

We’ve been taught this lesson since we were children. Fire drills at school are one example of this, as is the childhood lesson “stop, drop, and roll.” Preparing for the unexpected ensures that we are better able to handle crisis when they do occur because we practiced how to manage the situation. Simulations and training exercises allow us to work out the kinks in our crisis plans before we are forced to put them into action.

10. Crisis challenge the way organizations think about and conduct their business.

The example used in the book is that in a post 9-11 world, we look at the security of airliner cockpits and security screening in a way much different that we did before the World Trade Center was hit.

While some of the lessons were common sense, they helped outline how to manage the uncertainty that often plagues crisis situations. When left unmanaged, uncertainness has the potential to be more damaging that the actual crisis itself. After reading these lessons, I’m curious to hear more examples of situations in which organizations successfully managed uncertainty.