Lecture 2/3: Crisis communication Flashcards
What is a crisis?
A crisis is a turning point in a situation, where an important change takes place, that could determine a negative outcome
For organizations, crises include:
- Natural crises (floods, earthquakes, fires)
- Political crises (corruption, changes in government)
- Internal crises (misconduct, abuse)
What is the defintion of a crisis formulated by Coombs?
A crisis is the perception of an unpredictable event that threatens important expectancies of stakeholders related to health, safety, environmental, and economic issues, and can seriously impact an organization’s performance and generate negative outcomes
How can stakeholders in a crisis be defined?
individuals, groups, communities, or organizations who may affect, be affected by or perceive themselves to be affected by the crisis – Ndlela, 2019
Why are stakeholders important?
Interest around stakeholders comes from stakeholder theory, an economic theory that posits that organizations are embedded in a series of relationships with other organizations, communities, and institutions such as governments.
According to this theory, the goals of an organization should be the mediation of everyone’s interests (and not just making a profit)
“an organization’s success is dependent on how well it manages the relationships with key groups such as customers, employees, suppliers, communities, financiers, and other that can affect the realization of its purpose” –
R. Edward Freeman & Phillips, 2002
When thinking of how to respond to a crisis, organizations should understand the following things about their stakeholders…
- Which stakeholders are affected
- How seriously they are affected
- What are the consequences of the stakeholders being affected
This requires a classification
4 steps in stakeholder management
- identify stakeholders
- analyse stakeholders
- plan stakeholder communication
- engage stakeholders
Describe step 1 of stakeholder management
o Identify stakeholder groups/individuals
o Create stakeholder categories
o Create stakeholder contact list
Describe step 2 of stakeholder management
o Prioritize by influence/power
o Prioritize by the degree of involvement
o Create stakeholder maps
o Create stakeholder engagement grid
Describe step 3 of stakeholder management
o Create communication planning sheet
o Identify communication channels
o Identify engagement activities
o Create stakeholder communication plans
Describe step 4 of stakeholder management
o Execute communication plan
o Update communication plan
o Establish feedback mechanism
Primary vs secondary stakeholders
Primary = those who are directly, significantly or potentially affected by the activities of the organization (employees, customers, suppliers, etc). this can also mean those who are directly, significantly, and potentially affected by a crisis.
Secondary = those indirectly affected or for whom the impact is not that direct, such as the media, special interest groups and authorities.
Internal vs external stakeholders
Internal = directly affected and take part in the organization’s decision-making and operations. E.g. managers, owners, employees
External = not involved in the organization’s operations. E.g. customers, suppliers, authorities
What are the 4 different kinds of organizational linkages?
Normative stakeholders
Diffusive stakeholders
Functional stakeholders
Enabling stakeholders
Explain normative stakeholders
= Those the organization has a common interest with, shares similar problems or values. E.g. universities and middle schools
Explain diffusive stakeholders
= Stakeholders who are not involved in a company and only appear in the context of a crisis. E.g. the media, activists
Explain functional stakeholders
= Stakeholders who are essential for the management of the crisis. E.g. public security, police, ambulance
Explain enabling stakeholders
= Stakeholders who have the authority to define the parameters of a company’s crisis management. E.g. regulators, government
The matrix model; what are the 4 management strategies? (top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right)
Keep satisfied
Manage closely (maximum effort needed)
Monitor (minimum effort needed)
Keep informed
Matrix model: explain Keep satisfied
high power / low interest
Stakeholder in this category can have a lot of influence if they decide to use their power, but not a lot of interest in doing so
Matrix model: explain Manage closely
high power / high interest
This group includes key stakeholders who should be involved in decision-making
Matrix model: explain Monitor
low power / low interest
Stakeholder who barely can influence the management of the crisis
Matrix model: explain Keep informed
low power / high interest
Stakeholders who are directly affected by the crisis, but might not have the power to be heard
Sudden vs Smouldering
Sudden = an unpredictable crisis that takes place all of a sudden, without any possibility of control from the organization. Unplanned, unexpected, undersigned events
Smouldering = slow-moving and not always clear to see. Often they are based on issues that evolve over a long period of time
