W10 Readings: Zaremba Ch.1,2,3 Flashcards
crisis
an anomalous event that may negatively affect an organization and requires efficient organizational communication to reduce the damage related to the event
Foundations for crisis communication
1) crises are inevitable
2) transparent and honest communication is proven to be a key to effective crisis communication
3) when in doubt follow the golden rule approach
4) an organization’s culture can determine crisis comm. success
5) crisis comm. requires training and skill sets
“STICK” = Skill in crisis comm., Transparency, Inevitability of crises and therefore the imperative of precrisis preparation, Culture an organization that won’t undermine the crisis plan, and Knowledge of the value of the golden rule principle
common characteristics of a crisis
1) atypical events that might be predictable, but are not expected when they occur
2) can be damaging to an organization or individuals within the organization
3) compels organizations to communicate with various audiences in order to limit the damages that may be caused by crisis. (quality of the communications can ameliorate or exacerbate the situation)
Types of crises
1) natural disaster
2) management/employee misconduct
3) product tampering
4) mega damage (i.e. oil spill)
5) rumor
6) technical breakdown/accident
7) technical breakdown/not entirely accidental
8) challenge (i.e. Walmart confronted by consumer group)
9) Human error
10) workplace violence
myths about crisis comm.
1) crisis comm. is solely a reactive activity
2) crisis comm. is synonymous with media relations
3) crisis comm. is about spin control (spinning a neg. situation into a positive one)
4) involves communicating only to external audiences
5) is a linear activity (comm. only goes from sender TO receiver)
stakeholder
the audiences who receive messages pertaining to crises. Can be internal or external
stakeholder theory
refers to the assumption that during crises there are multiple stakeholders and each discrete group likely needs to receive different messages
legitimacy
the stakeholder perception of an organization’s behavior
image restoration theory
posits that when an organization loses legitimacy it can restore its image by the use of symbols (language to communicate messages to audiences)
what are the Four Rs?
relationships, reputation, responsibility, and response (4 variables examined in crisis comm. research)
relationships
the connection between the org. and its various stakeholders
reputation
the extent to which the org. is seen as legitimate
responsibility
the extent to which the stakeholders consider the org. responsible for the crisis
attribution theory
assumes that when an event occurs, people need to or tend to attribute causes and responsibility for the events to other individuals or organizations or to themselves. (People like to look for the causes of events)
stability
how frequently an organization has crises
external control
crisis is controlled by someone outside the organization
internal control
crisis is controlled by someone inside the org.
personal control
refers to whether an actor involved with the crisis could have controlled the event
counterfactual
a reaction by stakeholders that reflects their feeling that a company could or should have done something differently as it relates to the crisis
SCCT/Clustering
SCCT = Situational Crisis Communication Theory. Argues that on the basis of clusters (of victim, accidental, or intentional), crisis communicators can use image restoration approaches that have been shown to be effective for these crises
sleeper effect
suggests that in certain situations the effect of reputation may be short term; newly formed attitudes seem to gravitate back toward the position held prior to receiving the message, almost as if they were never exposed to the communication in the first place
instructing information
communicated information about how to address a risk
nuggets
specific messages that crisis communicators want to convey to audiences. A vital piece of information.
Halo effect
the tendency for some positive attribution of a company to remain with the company subsequently
Velcro effect
the tendency for negative attributions to stick to a company because of negative performance history
media richness
the value of a particular medium as a method of communicating. Determined by 3 factors:
1) whether the medium allows for immediate feedback
2) the availability of multiple communication cues
3) the ability to use the medium to personalize the message
rhetoric
the study of language or other symbols and the analysis of how language symbols are used to convey meaning
rhetorical sensitivity
language needs to be sensitively selected to meet the expectations of the situation and the audience
paralingual sensitivity
care in how you say what you say
speech accommodation theory
posits that people have a tendency o accommodate their language because of the audience with whom they are speaking
crisis comm. is a subcategory of a broader area of study called
organizational communication (the study of why an how orgs. send and receive info in a complex env.
information management
identifying what needs to be communicated w/n orgs. and how to communicate what needs to be communicated most efficiently
systems theory
organizations are comprised of interdependent units that should work interdependently. Applies to both the prevention of crises and the ability to communicate when crises arise
key principles of systems theory
- hierarchical ordering
- permeability
- requisite variety (each subsystem has to be as complex and sophisticated as the relevant external environment)
focal system
the subsystem that one is studying w/n an organization
cultural theory
based on premise that a phenomenon that can appropriately be labeled “organizational culture” exists. Assumes that individual organizations can be said to have distinctive cultures that are a composite of shared organizational values, customs, and beliefs
Principles of cultural theory
- slogans, rites, rituals, heroes
- functionalists (people who assume that the culture of an org. is a direct function of admin. communications) and interpretivists (suggest that the org. structure is not generated by managerial comm. but is the residual of all communications, regardless of how official they may be)
- socialization, assimilation, identification
Classical Theory
refers to a collection of theories that were developed in the early part of the 20th century. Central principle = an organization should be seen as if it were a machine. Leaders in orgs. derive their authority by rules est. by the org. that imbue leaders with this authority
2 principles of classical management theory important to CC
1) organizations are obliged to explain how to work to employees
2) rules must be articulated to identify who in an organization is responsible for which roles
key principles of classical theory
1) natural and systematic soldiering (employees are inherently and can be trained by a veteran employee to work slowly)
2) scalar chain/downward comm. (hierarchical chain of command)
human resources theory
employees are not inherently lazy and under the right conditions they will enjoy work; they seek responsibility and wish to have their voices respected and not suppressed during decision making
how is human resources theory related to CC?
input from employees might provide information that can preclude crises and be helpful during CC
Key principles of the Human Resource Theory
1) Hawthorne effect (observation and recognition can affect organizational performance)
2) Jackass fallacy (the assumption that employees are fools not willing to do much other than collect their salaries)
3) Informal networks (people check veracity of info from formal networks with informal networks)
4) organizational credibility
Chaos Theory
what may appear to be unrelated phenomena which collectively seem to constitute chaos-are in fact not unrelated and not disparate. Apparently disparate events are part of some larger composite; the appearance of random chaos is illusory
Chaos Theory in CC
all activity in an org. has the potential to affect all other activity
Critical Theory
communication can be used as a tool for abuse
ideology (in regards to Critical Theory)
describes beliefs that employers consider normal and natural, which constitute an ideological framework that those in power wish employees to consider standard, foundational, and perhaps even sacred.
manufactured consent (in regards to critical theory)
the phenomenon of buying into subjugating ideologies. Occurs when employees adopt and may enforce philosophies that could in fact, be unhealthy for them.
How does Critical Theory relate to CC?
organizations can be sites of domination and abuse
key concepts of critical theory
- multiple stakeholder theory (an org. should reconfigure its perspectives of essential stakeholders to include both employees and shareholders as stakeholders)
- workplace democracy
- concertive control (assumes that members of orgs. aren’t subjugated but work collectively as a team toward the health of the org.
Communication Theory (from a transmission perspective)
likens communication to the act of transporting a bucket of water from one person to another
Communication Theory (from a constitutive approach)
suggests that one examine communication not primarily as a transmission phenomenon that occurs w/n the organization, but rather as behavior that shapes or constitutes the org.
How does basic Comm. Theory relate to CC?
- info must go from the org. to stakeholders and stakeholders must have the opportunity to respond.
- the manner of comm. in an org. can affect the nature of the org. such that its structure, power relationships, and communication styles either act to preempt or fuel organizational crisis
key concepts of basic comm. theory
- comm. is receiver centered and nonlinear
- comm. is irreversible
- comm. can be verbal or nonverbal
