Crisis Manual for Effective Crisis Management - Desklib
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Desklib's Crisis Manual provides insights on objectives, types of crisis, key publics, media, communication team, resources, and more. Learn how to manage crisis situations effectively.
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Running head: PUBLIC RELATIONS Crisis Manual Date: 10/8/2018 Revised Date: 12/8/2018 Name of the University: Name of the Student: Author Note:
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1PUBLIC RELATIONS Table of Contents II.Crisis Manual......................................................................................................................2 Introduction............................................................................................................................2 Objectives...............................................................................................................................2 Types of Crisis...................................................................................................................3 List of Key Publics and Notifying Publics.............................................................................3 List of Key Media..................................................................................................................5 Crisis Communication Team..................................................................................................5 Spokespeople..........................................................................................................................6 Resources...............................................................................................................................7 Pre-gathered Documents........................................................................................................8 Evaluation..............................................................................................................................9 III.Press Release......................................................................................................................9 Bibliography.............................................................................................................................10
2PUBLIC RELATIONS II.Crisis Manual Introduction Any crisis can disturb the overall procedure of operations, the reputation of the brands or the entire company and also the safety as well as wellbeing of the employees. At times of crises, no energy or time should be wasted on the following questions like; ï‚·Which actions the company should undertake? ï‚·Which individuals are the important members of the crisis management team? ï‚·Who has what type of responsibilities? ï‚·Who should be informed? The purpose of the crisis manual is to persuade the employees to use it, if any crisis situation emerges. Moreover, it emphasizes upon the necessity as well as the dire results possible, if the plan is not being followed. The corporate crisis manual answers these specific questions and thus, it is very important for limiting the overall impact of the potential crises. The crisis manual begins with outlining the basic objectives of the crisis management within IKEA Company. Thereafter, the role and composition of the key as well as notifying publics involved are being discussed in a detailed manner. In addition to this, the lists of key media, crisis communication team, spokespeople, resources, pre-gathered documents and evaluation are being given in order to enhance workplace safety and proper management of crisis situations. Objectives The objectivesof this crisis manual are to identify the major crisis situations occurring at IKEA Company, which might cause serious disruption or threat to the normal business procedures. The purpose of this crisis manual is to;
3PUBLIC RELATIONS ï‚·Take care of the serious threats, which hamper the day to day business procedures; ï‚·Keep under control any fatal or serious labor accidents; ï‚·Monitor the possible threats to the good name of IKEA Company or any of its brands; ï‚·Resolve the external threats like blackmailing, terrorism, product tampering and kidnapping. Types of Crisis The crisis situations are being categorized into five different categories; ï‚·The crises that is related to the primary receipt of the products from the product suppliers; ï‚·The one which is related to the processing of the products like location calamities suchas;fire,environmentalincidents,laboraccidents,andcontaminationof ingredients, packaging or raw materials; ï‚·Labor conflicts like blockage, strike and others; ï‚·Breakdown of ICT; ï‚·External threats like blackmail, kidnapping, terrorism and product tampering. If such situations occur at the organizations, it falls under the public relations manager to control the whole matter and keep everything under control. List of Key Publics and Notifying Publics During any crisis situation, it is highly important for the public relations officer to notify the key publics, both internal as well as external. Most importantly, it falls under the responsibility of the public relations manager to inform the key publics in order to keep the situation under control. The key internal publics, who are directly associated with the company are its employees, investors or shareholders, suppliers, distributors, dealers, retailers or other business associations. On the other hand, the key external publics are the ones, who
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4PUBLIC RELATIONS are indirectly associated with the business. They are the company’s consumers or customers, community, mass media, government, action groups, financial institutions or general publics. 1.Notification of the CalamityDetermining its nature and notifying the Central Crisis Contact Point 2.Warning the crisis management teams or other deputies According to the information available, the head of the department takes the decision if the crisis management team should be mobilized or not. 3.Warning and calling in the internal as well as external advisers The crisis management team alerts the deputy or thestand-bymembers,dependingonthe calamity’s nature. 4.Crises center facilitiesThe secretariat of the crisis management team organizes crises center facilities. 5.Team meetingThe crisis team secretariat is required to call for the meeting on the request of the chairperson. 6.Action list and agenda for the meetingUsing the agenda for the crisis team meetings as well as the action lists, the team needs to prepare a checklist. 7.Key issues of the crisis meetingsComposition of the sub-teams and crisis teams, distributionoftheduties,meetingschedule, reporting, documenting management and others. 8.Ensuringthatthephonecallsare being handled in a proper manner It is highly important for the crisis management teamtotakethefollowingthingsinto consideration; No negative remarks or comments in front of the media; Re-routingtheconnectionsofthe
5PUBLIC RELATIONS crisis management teams; Limitingtheinformationsupply regarding the current crisis situation; Less use of cell phones as there are associated risks of listening in. List of Key Media The public relations officer of the organization should develop a list of key media in order to communicate directly with its target audiences. The list is long and most importantly, it should include all kinds of mass medium in order to spread the necessary information to the most number of heads. The customers are the basis of any organization and therefore, no important information should remain hidden from them. The most common mediums are; Broadcast (Television, Radio etc) Print (Newspapers, magazines, newsletters, press releases etc) Online (Electronic mail, websites etc) Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, company’s official websites etc) It is highly important to select a proper channel in case of handling crisis. Reaching the most number of target audiences is the main aim here and therefore, the public relations officers of the company is required to understand its importance. Crisis Communication Team The team should be small comprising the senior executives. It is important to identifying the ones who is skilled enough to serve as the Crisis Communications Team of the organization. The CEO will be leading the team, along with the organization’s top Public
6PUBLIC RELATIONS Relations Executive as well as the Legal Counsel being his/her advisers. Moreover, if the in- house Public Relations Executive does not have enough expertise in crisis communications, he/she should choose to retain a related agency or the independent consultants, specializing in the field. Other members of the team should comprise the organizational heads of the major divisions, as any crisis situation has the power to affect the whole organization. In addition to this, the team should also include the ones having special knowledge that is related to the present crisis of the IKEA Company such as; subject specified experts. Most importantly, the legal counsels have the power to understand the organizational crisis and how it can be amended. Therefore, they play a vital role in this. A crisis manager is primarily focused on the public opinion court. If the organization is trying to hide or conceal any of its facts from both the internal as well as external publics, it might face severe consequences later. Thus, it is important to look out for ways without compromising the legal matters and appearing responsive at the same time, in order to seek more relevant way outs. Spokespeople Categorically, the organization needs to ensure the appropriate training facilities and policies, which only the authorized spokespersons can speak. It is particularly important during the time of any crisis. Moreover, each and every crisis communication team should have enough individuals who are being pre-screened and trained to be led. Furthermore, it is necessaryforhavingabackupteamforvariouscommunicationchannels.Allthe organizational spokespeople need to have the right skills, right position and right training during the crisis situation. The senior level corporate executives need to stand up in front of the press conferences without any fear and perform in an extra ordinary manner. It is also important for them to write effectively as the communicators should probably not speak in interviews.
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7PUBLIC RELATIONS The responsibilities of the spokespeople invariable comprise online communication as social media is the easiest method of communicating with the publics, in modern days. However, it can be a very easy place to commit mistakes as well. Thus, it needs to be taken care of. Matching the skills of the potential spokespeople along with their assessments is highly critical for the crisis communications team. Some spokespeople might excel naturally atdifferentformsofcrisismanagementliketraditionalmedia,businesstobusiness communication, internal communication, social media and others. However, some might not and be more limited. Resources In addition to the above mentioned factors, resources are the ones, which should be given immense importance. Along with the spokespeople, crisis communication teams, the resources should also be given major attention. It is important for the public relations officers to keep the resources at place and gather the necessary equipments, documents and others before the crisis situation. Moreover, it is highly critical to establish notification as well as the monitoring systems. For the crisis management teams to operate in an effective manner, it is immensely necessary that sufficient resources and space are available. The necessary rooms need to operate within two-three hours of the crisis. Furthermore, these particular areas should be on site as well as off site. The resources typically include the following; ï‚·A meeting room for at least twelve people, which should also have telephone and internet connections; ï‚·Four workplaces for the chairperson, two specialists and administrative assistant; ï‚·Sanitary facilities; ï‚·Spare workplaces; ï‚·Whiteboard, beamer and flip over; ï‚·Office supplies like pens, paper and stationery items;
8PUBLIC RELATIONS ï‚·Personal items like food, beverages and other refreshments; ï‚·A manual of crisis management; ï‚·First aid supplies and more. In addition to this, the company should also have a proper communication facility comprising the following; ï‚·Sufficient connections of telephone through the switchboard; ï‚·Two telephone connections; ï‚·Telephones having loudspeakers; ï‚·Telephone directories, both in book as well as electronic form; ï‚·Stand alone computers; ï‚·Internet and e-mail facilities; ï‚·TV and radio set with independent antenna and recording equipments. Pre-gathered Documents The public relations officer of the company needs to prepare a document in advance, which should encompass the factors related to safety procedures, records, biographies of the executives, annual reports, press release, question and answer manual for the digital actions of the public relations officer. In addition to this, it should include some basic messages during the crisis event. The stand by contracts with the research institute for analyzing the samples, bureau of public relations, legal advisor and contacts with the local government as well as inspection agencies need to be maintained. In addition to this, the updated crisis manual should also be kept under consideration. Moreover, the public relations executive should also take care of the security as well as accessibilitycontrol,in accordancewith the location,theincomingand theoutgoing deliveries of mails, courier services and others. Handling the crisis situations in the most
9PUBLIC RELATIONS effective manner is the basic principle, which is under the responsibility of the company’s executives. In addition to this, it needs to be managed at the corporate level. Evaluation Every crisis needs to be evaluated along with the report to the company’s leadership team. Moreover, it is important to keep the resources and management team at place in order to fight with the problems. In addition to this, thinking in a different manner and becoming more sensible could have helped IKEA in dealing with the issue in a responsive manner. It can help in changing public opinion regarding the company. III.Press Release IKEA Extends Recall Harmful Dressers to China after Criticism August 14, 2018: For immediate release IKEA has decided to extend its recall to the country of China, where it has enjoyed a strong reputation. Considering its past crisis situation, the team has become more responsible now. The spokesperson of the company has also mentioned how consumer safety is important for the company. In addition to this, IKEA has also taken the safety concern by practically demonstrating the fact. In addition to this, the spokesperson believes that they are not just only a part of the consumer protection infrastructure, but also they are an important link between the businesses and consumers. For more information, visitwww.ikea.com Amy Smith (Public Relations Officer)
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10PUBLIC RELATIONS Bibliography Anthony, S. (2018).Public relations and the making of modern Britain: Stephen Tallents and the birth of a progressive media profession. Oxford University Press. Austin, E. W., & Pinkleton, B. E. (2015).Strategic public relations management: Planning and managing effective communication campaigns. Routledge. Boin, A., Stern, E., & Sundelius, B. (2016).The politics of crisis management: Public leadership under pressure. Cambridge University Press. Borchelt, R., & Nielsen, K. H. (2014). Public relations in science.Handbook of Public CommunicationofScienceandTechnology,2nded.LondonandNewYork: Routledge, 58-69. Doorley, J., & Garcia, H. F. (2015).Reputation management: The key to successful public relations and corporate communication. Routledge. Fearn-Banks, K. (2016).Crisis communications: A casebook approach. Routledge. Graham, M. W., Avery, E. J., & Park, S. (2015). The role of social media in local government crisis communications.Public Relations Review,41(3), 386-394. Harrison,S.(Ed.).(2016).Disastersandthemedia:Managingcrisiscommunications. Springer. Howard, W. (Ed.). (2016).The practice of public relations. Elsevier. Kiesenbauer, J., & Zerfass, A. (2015). Today’s and tomorrow’s challenges in public relations: Comparingtheviewsofchiefcommunicationofficersandnextgeneration leaders.Public Relations Review,41(4), 422-434.
11PUBLIC RELATIONS Kunczik, M. (2016).Images of nations and international public relations. Routledge. Laskin, A. V. (2014). Investor relations as a public relations function: A state of the profession in the United States.Journal of Public Relations Research,26(3), 200-214. L'Etang, J., McKie, D., Snow, N., & Xifra, J. (Eds.). (2015).The Routledge handbook of critical public relations. Routledge. Nolte, L. W. (2016).Fundamentals of public relations: professional guidelines, concepts and integrations. Elsevier. Nytimes.com.(2018).Retrievedfrom https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/13/business/international/ikea-recall-china.html Parsons, P. J. (2016).Ethics in public relations: A guide to best practice. Kogan Page Publishers.