MNG8001: Corporate Communication Crisis Management Report

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MNG8001: MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATION
Assignment 4
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Crisis Management..........................................................................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................8
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Introduction
Corporate communication is being considered as the function of the management or the
department such as marketing, finance and operation and is the set of activities that are having
involvement in the orchestrating and control of the internal as well as external communication
and aimed to develop favourable viewpoint between the stakeholders on which company is
having dependency (Johansen et. al., 2012). Corporate communication plays a significant role in
the development and growth of a company. Crisis management is one of the most significant
topics that play a significant role in corporate communication. This report will be based on the
following things:
Purpose: The primary goal of this report is to understand the concepts of Crisis Management.
Thesis: In this report, there will be the provision of the brief overview concerning the crisis
having an association with the company like organisational crisis which will be the primary
study area.
Blueprint: This report is being developed on the report of crisis communication. At the time of
crisis in an organisation, it is essential for an organisation to have proper crisis communication
effectively and appropriately. There are different types of crisis that arise in an organisation and
will be discussed in this report. A role of the corporate communication that must be done by the
managers at the time of crisis will also be presented in this report.
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Crisis Management
In the final section of the report, there is a description concerning crisis communication. The
crisis is such a thing with which everyone has a relationship. A crisis is being considered as a
situation where someone or something gets impacted by a serious issue or a problem. In an
organisation, different types of crisis can be there like natural disasters, human errors,
negligence, accounting and financial frauds, online theft and many others. To avoid these crises,
there is a need for crisis management which must be done by the managers (Utz et. al., 2013).
Crisis management is one of the corporate communication functions and should be carried out
appropriately to avoid various crises in an organisation.
A crisis is a threat to an organisation, a short period of risk and an unexpected element. It can
make an impact on every segment in regards to the social order that makes the inclusion of
nonprofit businesses, government, educational institutions, business etc. This study will have a
focus on the issues concerning the organisation and how managers will make use of corporate
communication to manage such matters. For a company, a crisis will be considered as
uncharacteristic and anomalous perception or situation which cannot be controlled by an
organisation and also give impact on the operations. If a company fails to determine the possible
crisis in the starting stage, then it can harm the process of the company (Coombs, 2015). A crisis
may also give threat to the survival of the business. Therefore to operate effectively and survive
in the market, proper crisis management tools and techniques must be at the place.
The designing of crisis management is being done to give protection to the organisation as well
as to the stakeholders from different threats. Crisis communication is being defined as the sub-
specialty of the public relation profession that is designed to defend and protect an individual, an
organisation or a company facing different challenges to its reputation. These crises may be
related to accounting and financial frauds, human-related faults, and many others. Corporate
communication can make provision of the team with extensive operational and strategic
experience in assisting as well as managing the business with the support of real crisis and
emergencies (Timothy Coombs and Jean Holladay, 2014). If a manager of the company will
have a proper understanding in relation with the functions of corporate communication, then he
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will have a piece of appropriate knowledge in connection with crisis dynamics and how to have
control on the situation instead of having the power of the position on you.
There are two kinds of issues related to crisis management which will be explained as follows:
Issue 1 Improper understanding
The main problem concerning the crisis management in a business association is that
organisation tend not to acknowledge or understand how dangerous they are until there is the
occurrence of a significant crisis. This is substantial issues for which managers of the
organisation are not prepared. An association is not able to prepare for the crisis that may give
potential impact nor do they have the capability to attempt it (Helm and Tolsdorf, 2013). Instead,
development of the response’s portfolio for different clusters of crisis will make increment in the
likelihood that of there will be occurrence of crisis, individuals will have clear thinking to make
improvisation in the deal with the practical solution, gather facts rapidly, take actions as well as
make decisions to make sure the best possible response. The improper understanding of crisis
will produce an adverse impact on an organisation which will hamper all the operations in
addition to the profit of the company.
If there will be a proper understanding of the crisis in an organisation, then they can prepare
well. Proactive actions and decisions can support association in avoiding the different types of
crisis that may give the most devastating threats or will have effective management of those that
may occur most likely (Yeshin, 2012). Understanding in relation with the different crisis will
make them confident that organisation will have practical benefits with the thinking that will
support in proper preparation, leaders will start tackling the when, where, who and what
regarding the crisis management.
Issue 2 Lack of preparation
Another issue in an organisation regarding crisis management is the lack of development. Lack
of progress in a company will make the crisis prolonged and severe when they take place.
Systematic crisis management is very valuable in an organisation. If there will be a lack of
preparation for the crisis, then the organisation may face various negative issues they may give a
harmful impact on the overall development and growth of the company (Coombs, 2013).
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Preparation must be there in relation with the unforeseeable and foreseeable crisis in the three
categories like a crisis for which organisation is prepared to manage, for which they need to
prepare and for which they are not ready to handle.
If there will be proper preparation of crisis in an organisation, then the employees will also to
have appropriate training regarding how crisis must be managed. For this leaders and managers
should also have an adequate understanding concerning the corporate communication function
which will be various support issues that arise in an organisation. One of the most trending faces
of crisis is related to online data theft (Fatima Oliveira, 2013). For this association must prepare
well with the security software and technologies so as avoid such issues. To make well for the
crisis, there should be proper development of the risk of each category. In the next step, leaders
must have adequate search for the similarities between the selected crises, by making
identification how the preparation of the one will prepare for others. There are different types of
crisis management approaches, the kind of response demonstrates that any will support an
organisation in effectively managing the sort of incident that may arise. Development of
effective decision at the time of crisis will strike a balance among certainty and timeliness. That
is, there can be quick management if critical actions and decisions despite incomplete and
uncertain information (Fearn-Banks, 2016). Preparation regarding crisis will enable the
association to attain and identify the balance more effectively.
A vast array of crisis arises in the world of business for which organisations must be well
prepared to manage the situation of crisis in an appropriate manner. The best associations,
however, will make recognition of those active steps for the preparation of unforeseen will pay in
a handsome way (Olsson, 2014).
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Conclusion
From the above report, it can be concluded that it is indispensable to prepare adequately in
regards with the crisis that arise in an organisation so that they will not face any difficulty in
relation with the growth and success. Crisis management is one of the most useful functions of
corporate communication for which managers must prepare well. There are some issues also
concerning crisis management, and those are improper understanding and lack of preparation.
Organisations must prepare well to solve these issues for effective crisis management.
It has been recommended that for the effective crisis management, companies all over the world
should have a proper contingency plan to deal with the distinct situation of crisis. Preparation of
the advance emergency plan reflects that an organisation is prepared for the crisis. Therefore the
contingency plan is advantageous in crisis management.
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References
 Coombs, W.T., 2013. Situational theory of crisis: Situational crisis communication theory and
corporate reputation. The handbook of communication and corporate reputation, pp.262-278.
 Coombs, W.T., 2015. The value of communication during a crisis: Insights from strategic
communication research. Business Horizons, 58(2), pp.141-148.
 Fatima Oliveira, M.D., 2013. Multicultural environments and their challenges to crisis
communication. The Journal of Business Communication (1973), 50(3), pp.253-277.
 Fearn-Banks, K., 2016. Crisis communications: A casebook approach. Routledge.
 Helm, S. and Tolsdorf, J., 2013. How does corporate reputation affect customer loyalty in a
corporate crisis?. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 21(3), pp.144-152.
 Johansen, W., Aggerholm, H.K. and Frandsen, F., 2012. Entering new territory: A study of
internal crisis management and crisis communication in organizations. Public Relations
Review, 38(2), pp.270-279.
 Olsson, E.K., 2014. Crisis communication in public organisations: Dimensions of crisis
communication revisited. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis management, 22(2), pp.113-125.
 Timothy Coombs, W. and Jean Holladay, S., 2014. How publics react to crisis communication
efforts: Comparing crisis response reactions across sub-arenas. Journal of Communication
Management, 18(1), pp.40-57.
 Utz, S., Schultz, F. and Glocka, S., 2013. Crisis communication online: How medium, crisis type
and emotions affected public reactions in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Public
Relations Review, 39(1), pp.40-46.
 Yeshin, T., 2012. Integrated marketing communications. Routledge.
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