W10 Readings: Zaremba Ch.1,2,3

Question 0

crisis

Answer 0

an anomalous event that may negatively affect an organization and requires efficient organizational communication to reduce the damage related to the event

Question 1

Foundations for crisis communication

Answer 1

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

Question 2

common characteristics of a crisis

Answer 2

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)

Question 3

Types of crises

Answer 3

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

Question 4

myths about crisis comm.

Answer 4

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)

Question 5

stakeholder

Answer 5

the audiences who receive messages pertaining to crises. Can be internal or external

Question 6

stakeholder theory

Answer 6

refers to the assumption that during crises there are multiple stakeholders and each discrete group likely needs to receive different messages

Question 7

legitimacy

Answer 7

the stakeholder perception of an organization’s behavior

Question 8

image restoration theory

Answer 8

posits that when an organization loses legitimacy it can restore its image by the use of symbols (language to communicate messages to audiences)

Question 9

what are the Four Rs?

Answer 9

relationships, reputation, responsibility, and response (4 variables examined in crisis comm. research)

Question 10

relationships

Answer 10

the connection between the org. and its various stakeholders

Question 11

reputation

Answer 11

the extent to which the org. is seen as legitimate

Question 12

responsibility

Answer 12

the extent to which the stakeholders consider the org. responsible for the crisis

Question 13

attribution theory

Answer 13

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)

Question 14

stability

Answer 14

how frequently an organization has crises

Question 15

external control

Answer 15

crisis is controlled by someone outside the organization

Question 16

internal control

Answer 16

crisis is controlled by someone inside the org.

Question 17

personal control

Answer 17

refers to whether an actor involved with the crisis could have controlled the event

Question 18

counterfactual

Answer 18

a reaction by stakeholders that reflects their feeling that a company could or should have done something differently as it relates to the crisis

Question 19

SCCT/Clustering

Answer 19

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

Question 20

sleeper effect

Answer 20

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

Question 21

instructing information

Answer 21

communicated information about how to address a risk

Question 22

nuggets

Answer 22

specific messages that crisis communicators want to convey to audiences. A vital piece of information.

Question 23

Halo effect

Answer 23

the tendency for some positive attribution of a company to remain with the company subsequently

Question 24

Velcro effect

Answer 24

the tendency for negative attributions to stick to a company because of negative performance history

Question 25

media richness

Answer 25

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

Question 26

rhetoric

Answer 26

the study of language or other symbols and the analysis of how language symbols are used to convey meaning

Question 27

rhetorical sensitivity

Answer 27

language needs to be sensitively selected to meet the expectations of the situation and the audience

Question 28

paralingual sensitivity

Answer 28

care in how you say what you say

Question 29

speech accommodation theory

Answer 29

posits that people have a tendency o accommodate their language because of the audience with whom they are speaking

Question 30

crisis comm. is a subcategory of a broader area of study called

Answer 30

organizational communication (the study of why an how orgs. send and receive info in a complex env.

Question 31

information management

Answer 31

identifying what needs to be communicated w/n orgs. and how to communicate what needs to be communicated most efficiently

Question 32

systems theory

Answer 32

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

Question 33

key principles of systems theory

Answer 33

• hierarchical ordering
• permeability
• requisite variety (each subsystem has to be as complex and sophisticated as the relevant external environment)

Question 34

focal system

Answer 34

the subsystem that one is studying w/n an organization

Question 35

cultural theory

Answer 35

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

Question 36

Principles of cultural theory

Answer 36

• 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

Question 37

Classical Theory

Answer 37

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

Question 38

2 principles of classical management theory important to CC

Answer 38

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

Question 39

key principles of classical theory

Answer 39

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)

Question 40

human resources theory

Answer 40

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

Question 41

how is human resources theory related to CC?

Answer 41

input from employees might provide information that can preclude crises and be helpful during CC

Question 42

Key principles of the Human Resource Theory

Answer 42

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

Question 43

Chaos Theory

Answer 43

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

Question 44

Chaos Theory in CC

Answer 44

all activity in an org. has the potential to affect all other activity

Question 45

Critical Theory

Answer 45

communication can be used as a tool for abuse

Question 46

ideology (in regards to Critical Theory)

Answer 46

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.

Question 47

manufactured consent (in regards to critical theory)

Answer 47

the phenomenon of buying into subjugating ideologies. Occurs when employees adopt and may enforce philosophies that could in fact, be unhealthy for them.

Question 48

How does Critical Theory relate to CC?

Answer 48

organizations can be sites of domination and abuse

Question 49

key concepts of critical theory

Answer 49

• 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.

Question 50

Communication Theory (from a transmission perspective)

Answer 50

likens communication to the act of transporting a bucket of water from one person to another

Question 51

Communication Theory (from a constitutive approach)

Answer 51

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.

Question 52

How does basic Comm. Theory relate to CC?

Answer 52

• 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

Question 53

key concepts of basic comm. theory

Answer 53

• comm. is receiver centered and nonlinear
• comm. is irreversible
• comm. can be verbal or nonverbal