Management 9: Crisis Communication Analysis and Recommendations

This report analyzes the crisis communication response of an organization following a food contamination incident at a food festival. The report begins with an overview of the incident, detailing customer complaints of illness and the subsequent discovery of E. coli contamination. It then examines the PR implications, highlighting the negative impact on the organization's reputation, media relations, and social media presence. A stakeholder analysis identifies key parties affected, including the CEO, managing director, customers, and the communication department. The report critiques the communication team's handling of the crisis, noting their failure to address customer concerns and their lack of proactive communication. It assesses the message strategy and tactics employed, concluding that the organization's approach was ineffective. The report offers recommendations for improving future crisis responses, emphasizing the importance of a compelling message strategy, proactive communication, and effective stakeholder management. The report suggests that training for the communication department is essential to handle future crises effectively.

Running head: MANAGEMENT
Management
Name of the Organization:
Name of the Student:
Author’s Note:

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To
The Managing Director,
From: The Communication Team Supervisor
Date: 24th July, 2019
Subject: Update on the crisis handling by the communication team
Sir,
This is to inform you that I have been able to make a proper analysis over the activities that have
been undertaken by the newly appointed communication team over the crisis that took place in
the organization. As it is a known fact that the organization is a food and beverage industry they
are involved in the production and the serving if food to the customers. After due research it has
been seen that there have been some or the other kind of scandals in the organization for the past
few months. However as fast as the reports that have been forwarded by the officials of the past
years, some customers fell ill after the consumption of the food from the restaurant and the other
food joints under this organization. At the same time, there has been an in depth analysis of the
customer feedbacks sheet. The major aspect that was highlighted as the improper handling of the
crisis situations However I thought of dealing this matter with seriousness and started keeping a
lookout for the performance of the communication team.
As you may know a new communication team has been sleeted during the last quarter of the
month. The main activity of this team is to take care of the stakeholders during the outbreak of
any kind of crisis. During the last month there was a weeklong food fair that was being

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conducted in the month of Christmas and people from the local and the Global level came here
for tasting the different cuisines. In the beginning of the event everything apparently went on
well. However right after the second day there were several complaints coming down from the
guests or the people which had came there for taking part in the food fair. The main issue that
took place was the customers or the guests feeling sick and also a huge stomach ache after the
consumption of food. Though they reported to the reception they were not getting any proper
help or care from the end of the reception. This is really very unfortunate. Being a food company
serving the best cuisines to so many customers it must have been their prime duty t stay operated
for handling any kinds of incidents taking place. Thus it is really very negative aspect to see that
the communication team was not at all good in interacting or communicating with their
customers. This has greatly affected the good will. This shows that the PR strategies of the
organization are nit well developed enough to stay in proper contact with the customers or the
guest who were about to come in the food festival.
Media relation
Media include the journalists, television channel representatives, news channels and many other
such persons. This was one of the most important food festivals that were being conducted in
Canada and people from many different parts came for attending the same. Thus if the customers
are falling ill after the consumption of food then this can actually turn out to be one of the major
scandal in the entire career of the organization and this might also make the customers switch
onto other alternatives.
Social media

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In the m modern day scenario the social platform s like face book, twitter, instagram and other
such aspects help in making a proper interpersonal relationship with the customers. However it
was seen during the investigation that the customers took several medical tests. It was seen
during the medical tests that it mainly happened due to the contamination of their food by the E
coli virus. These medical tests that were taken by the customers also reported that the food
served to them was not up to the mark and was being handled in a very unsafe manner.
Customers reported about this event to the receptionists and the other officials who were present
there. The communication team was in charge of handling this crisis and the customers were
trying to make their concerns known to the communication department. Customers anticipated
that the communication team will be forwarding this crisis or the issue to the notice of the chef
and the kitchen department. However it was seen that the kitchen staffs did not pay any attention.
This is one of the major drawbacks as it could have been published by the company in the online
news sites or the online platforms as well. Thus it shows that the online news platforms or the
websites had the opportunity of posting the news about the irresponsibility of the communication
department of the organization. Thus it can be aid that the company as on the verge of losing the
good reputation that they had in the market. However, the PR team of the company was
supportive and they apologized for the fault that as seen on the part of the company and tried to
compensate the customers. They also posted the apology mails and the posts or blogs through the
official online website or the blogs in order to make sure that the each respective customer or
client is able to keep their trust within the company and make their repeat purchases as well.
Stakeholder analysis
The stakeholders that have been identified in this issue are the CEO of the organization, the
Managing director, the Head chef along with kitchen staffs. Apart from this the other employees

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were also the important stakeholders that would get affected. The customers or the guests were
also the ones who would be affected due to the improper handling of the food items. The
communication department is one of the major stakeholders in this aspect as they ignored their
responsibility and did not want to interact in this matter at all. The other stakeholder that was
considered to be important in this aspect is as the ones that came into the media. They were the
channel representatives, the news channel members and also the other journalists who came from
many different parts of the country.
The group of stakeholders apart from media who would be affected by this issue is customers or
the guests. The customers or guests are ones who actually came to the food festival at Canada
from different parts of the world. This is because the customers were the ones who would be able
to understand the quality that is being given by the restaurant. Thus it can be aid that the
communication team which was actually in charge of taking care of the crisis at the food feast
did not take the responsibility of understanding the queries of the customers or to render proper
help to the customers.
The group was supportive in the begging. The customers knew that they have to maintain very
good decorum while they were in the food feast. In other words the customers or the guest who
came from different parts of the world into this organization knew that they had to taste the
cuisines coming from different parts of the world thus they will be able tom meet with many
people coming from different cultural and also social backgrounds. Thus the customers kept a
proper respect and understanding towards each other. They were also trying their best to
maintain cooperation and feeling of proper understanding with all the people who are coming
from the different parts of the world. Apart from this, the customers were trying to enter into a
kind of horizontal communication system so that they can keep a connection with the

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communication department. Customers were trying to abide by all the rules of the organization
by maintaining a proper silence and understanding with one another.
It has been seen that after the outbreak of the crisis situation the customers wanted to talk with
the people of the communication department and also to inform about the different issues that
were being faced by them. However there is a great irresponsible nature that has been shown by
the people of the communication department. This is because of the fact that the communication
department did not send any kind of alerts or warning to the people of the kitchen or the head
chef even after knowing that the food was being contaminated due to the improper or the unsafe
handling of food by the people of the organization. However the person of the customers that is
the community group was angered and they did not want to stay in the food fest for any longer.
This is because they wanted to invest their time and their money in the right places where they
would be getting the right kind of people that would cooperate with them. The community group
that was mainly present in the customer group was belonging from the community of the food
enthusiasts and also from many NGOs. The NGOs mainly came to see if they can collaborate
with this food company for getting food for their branches. However getting such a poor and
irresponsible treatment from the communication department is really one of the most bad or
negative impact that they have been experiencing. Thus being the food enthusiast they were
really much hurt and also disheartened. It could have impacted the reputation of the company
and also the PR team of the company in a very bad way. Food enthusiasts or the travel bloggers
are people who give the review ratings and their feedbacks about their experiences in the places
of food and travel. However as the communication team did not give any medical aid or any
proper attention to the customers falling sick, it would have been really depressing for them.

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Thus it can be said that the entire experience which the customers and the food bloggers had in
this food feast was depressing. Though they got a very good start they were not happy after
getting such an irresponsible treatment from the end of the communication team. Many of them
fell ill and even after producing them medical certificates, nobody took the right initiative to get
them treated or take the right kind of action. Thus there was a very high possibility for the PR
team to lend some criminal charges against the company or even sue the company at any point of
time. Therefore from the next time it must be the duty if the organization to make sure that they
are training their communication department in a proper way.
Strategy and tactics
Identification of the message strategy – The development and use of a compelling message
strategy is considered to be an important and critical part of the marketing process. The message
strategy is considered to be critical for the communication that is completed in a crisis situation.
The concrete benefits that are provided by an effective message strategy are able to provide a
major competitive edge in comparison to the other organizations. My organization has conducted
a food fest that is able to serve huge number of people. The safety of these people is a major
concern for the management of my organization (Coombs, 2015). The message strategy that is
used by the organization in order to communicate at the time of crisis can have an impact on the
levels of information that can be provided to the customers and the members of the management
as well. The message strategy that had been used by my organization was however not
compelling in nature and the communication channels developed for crisis situations were also
not able to support the customers. The complaints that had been raised by the customers after
contamination of food in the fest had not been resolved by the crisis communication team
(Frandsen& Johansen, 2016).

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Tactics of delivering the key messages –The tactics that are used for the purpose of delivering
messages are considered to be an important part of the crisis communication process. Crisis
communication is able to support the ways by which my organization can manage the fest and
the customers in an effective way. The major tactics that have been used by my organization in
order to communicate at the time of crisis communication are the magazines and newspapers.
The website of my organization is also able to play an important part in the communication
process that has been developed. The crisis situation that has taken place in the fest could not be
solved effectively with the help of the tactics that have been implemented (Grappi&Romani,
2015).
Response strategy of the organization –The response strategy that has been used by my
organization is able to play major role in the ways by which customers can be contacted. The
issues of the customers can be solved only if the responses are provided within shorter periods of
time. The time required to provide response is considered to be an important aspect that has an
impact on the solutions that can be provided to the problems. The crisis communication plan that
is developed by an organization is also related to the response strategy and time required to
provide the response as well (Ma &Zhan, 2016).
Media relations –The handling of media relations is a major factor related to the operations of
modern organizations. The relationships that are developed by the organizations with media is
able to affect the reputation that has been gained by them. The PR team needs to operate in such
a manner so that the organization is able to maintain the image and reputation that has been
developed in the industry. My organization has developed a dedicated PR team that is able to
manage the relationships with different media houses. The management of media relations is

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able to affect the reputation of my organization in an effective manner(Frandsen& Johansen,
2016).
Final analysis of the situation
Role played by PR team – The PR team had played an effective role in the process of
handling the situation that had been developed due to mismanagement in the food fest. The news
related to issues that had been caused by the food fest had not been spread and the team was
successful in saving the reputation of the organization and prevent any further losses as well. On
the other hand, the PR team had also managed the customers and the rage that had been created
due to contamination in the food items. The customers and their demands had been able to create
major levels tension for the management of the organization and their future planning as well.
Different role to be played by PR team – The PR team could have played a completely
different role by analysing the communication plan and the responses that were provided as well.
The team was mainly concerned about the reputation that was developed by the organization and
the impact of this debacle on the future operations as well. However, understanding the needs of
the consumers could play a major role in the development of the organization. The organization
thereby needs to manage its future endeavours in order to make sure that such a debacle does not
take place again.
Levels of success gained by the organization – The success that had been gained by the
organization in the management of the food fest is quite low. The customers were not happy
about the services that have been provided by the organization and the ways by which their
complaints had been handled as well. The late resolution of problems had been a major reason
behind the failure of the organization and the program that had been managed as well.

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Success gained in implementation of response strategy – The response strategy that had
been implemented by the organization was quite slow in providing solutions to the customers
and had not been able to provide them with maximum levels of support. The lack of proper
support is considered to be important issue that was faced by the organization in providing
solutions to the issues.
Support provided by response strategy to mitigate the crisis – The crisis situation had not
been mitigated effectively by the response strategy that had been provided. The late responses
had reduced the trust levels of the customers and had also increased their dissatisfaction levels.
Recommendations –The recommendations that can be provided to the organization are
based on the development of an effective communication strategy and improving the response
timing as well. The PR team also needs to communicate with the customers in order to
understand the issues that are being faced by them. The website of the organization will be able
to play a major role in improving the communication process.

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References
Coombs, W. T. (2015). The value of communication during a crisis: Insights from strategic
communication research. Business Horizons, 58(2), 141-148.
Frandsen, F., & Johansen, W. (2016). Organizational crisis communication: A multivocal
approach. Sage.
Grappi, S., & Romani, S. (2015). Company post-crisis communication strategies and the
psychological mechanism underlying consumer reactions. Journal of Public Relations
Research, 27(1), 22-45.
Ma, L., & Zhan, M. (2016). Effects of attributed responsibility and response strategies on
organizational reputation: A meta-analysis of situational crisis communication theory
research. Journal of Public Relations Research, 28(2), 102-119.