2. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CRISIS PLANNING
by
REBEKAH KARTH
Presented to the Faculty of the Honors College of
The University of Texas at Arlington in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements
for the Degree of
HONORS BACHELOR OF ARTS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON
April 2011
3. iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My deepest thanks go to Dr. Shelley Wigley, my faculty adviser. I am also
profoundly grateful to Dr. Charla Markham-Shaw for her assistance that made my
participation in the Honors College Undergraduate Research Assistant program possible.
April 15, 2011
ABSTRACT
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THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CRISIS PLANNING
Rebekah Karth, BA
The University of Texas at Arlington, 2011
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Shelley Wigley
This pilot study explored the concept of whether a crisis plan makes a difference
in the outcome of crisis situations or if other factors are of similar importance, and should
not be overlooked (such as the leadership in an organization’s management level). This
study looked at a number of case studies, articles, and social media mentions. A content
analysis of six crisis management case studies was conducted to assess the presence or
absence of a crisis plan, leadership response and crisis outcome. Preliminary results
indicate that a crisis plan is not always the deciding factor in whether a crisis situation
has a successful outcome.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......................................................................................... iii
ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. iv
Chapter
1. IMPORTANCE…………… ......................................................................... 1
2. METHODOLOGY ...............................................................................2
2.1 Content Analysis ...............................................................................2
2.2 Coding………………………………………………………………3
2.3 Selection Criteria………………………………………………… ....
3. CASES…………………………................................................................... 4
3.1 Classics………………….. ................................................................. 4
3.1.1 Johnson & Johnson Tylenol Tampering................................... 4
3.1.2 Exxon Valdez 1989 Oil Spill.................................................... 5
3.2 Questions of Trust...............................................................................7
3.2.1 The Roman Catholic Church Child Sex Abuse Scandal……….7
3.2.2 Dole Spinach Recall…………………………………………….8
3.3 Shooting Incidents .............................................................................. 10
3.3.1 Columbine Massacre………………………………………….10
3.3.2 McDonald’s San Ysidro Massacre……………………………..11
4. CONCLUSION…………. ............................................................................13
6. vi
4.1 Summary………….............................................................................13
4.2 Further Study…..... .............................................................................14
Appendix
A. GRAPH ....................................................................................................... 16
REFERENCES .......................................................................................................... 17
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION......................................................................... 19
7. 1
CHAPTER 1
IMPORTANCE
This pilot study is important because crisis planning is a topic that has not received
much research exploration. It is often assumed that a crisis plan makes a major difference
in whether an organization (be it a public figure or a large corporation) recovers
successfully from a crisis situation. My faculty mentor and I chose this topic because it
is a topic that deserves further research to see if the general assumption is correct, or if
perhaps other factors should be taken into consideration as well. Through bringing
answers to this question to light, the hope is that communication professionals can be
better equipped to handle crisis situations as they arise in the future. Public relations
professionals emphasize the importance of having a crisis plan, and having a crisis plan
is taught to students in college classrooms. However, a review of the literature about this
topic found that this has not been tested or studied. If professionals wish to incorporate
this idea, having evidence to back it up would be a good thing. By no means is this study
a definitive answer to the topic of crisis planning. It may, however, serve as a starting
point to raise awareness and provide ideas for further study and research. This study may,
in the future, be expanded into a master’s level thesis. Francis J. Marra asserted that, while
crisis planning is important, more indepth research should be done beyond the technical
details of crisis management to discover any other factors that are also important that
might be overlooked (Marra, 1998).
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CHAPTER 2
METHODOLOGY
2.1 Content Analysis
The questions asked in this study were:
• Did the organization have a crisis plan?
o Cases were reviewed, and many of the ones picked were
explicitly stated to have a crisis plan or not in the case literature.
When this information was not available, estimations were made
based on the handling of the case.
• Did the leaders of the organization respond well during the crisis
situation?
• Did the crisis situation have a successful outcome for the organization?
• A rough, elementary content analysis was conducted of six crisis case
studies, found in newspaper articles, journals, and textbooks.
2.2 Coding
Coding of cases studied for this paper
• Crisis Plan/No Crisis Plan
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o This information was obtained directly from the text
when possible. When not explicitly stated in the text,
it was inferred that no crisis plan existed.
• Successful/Not Successful
o This information was determined directly from the
text whenever possible. When not explicitly stated in
the text, the coding was based on the description of
the outcome of the case.
• Successful Leader Response/Unsuccessful Leader Response
o This information was determined directly from the
text whenever possible. When not explicitly stated in
the text, the coding was based on the description of
how the leader acted when responding to the crisis.
2.3 Case Selection Criteria
The cases highlighted below were not the only ones researched during the course
of this study, but for the purposes of this paper, case comparisons were culled down for
the most effective comparisons. Some organizations fared better than others throughout
the duration of a crisis. In no way is this representative of all crisis situations. Cases have
been selected based on such factors as:
• Impact on society
• Impact on industry standards
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• Impact on the public relations profession
• Impact on the education of future public relations practitioners
CHAPTER 3
CASES
The six cases chosen illustrate different examples of how crisis management can
be utilized during a crisis situation, both effectively and ineffectively.
3.1 Classics
3.1.1. Johnson & Johnson Tylenol Tampering
Details
The textbook example for good crisis planning comes from Johnson & Johnson’s
tampering scare of 1982. Johnson & Johnson did not have a crisis plan in place for the
communication department if something of this nature were to occur (Fearn-Banks,
2007). As such, crises would be expected to be handled on a case-by-case basis, if they
occurred. Planning ahead with a specific plan was not something that was a priority at
that time. At this point in time, having a crisis communication plan was not necessarily a
common thing. However, there was an emergency plan for small in-house crises such as
a fire. Johnson & Johnson administrators did however have what they called their Credo.
By having this in place, the organization had priorities set in place. This was not a
replacement for a crisis plan, but it did tell employees and administrators what the
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organizations priorities were (Fearn-Banks, 2007). While there was no specific crisis plan
in place, Johnson & Johnson did have something very important established by having
steps to follow that started with the top of the organization. Even more importantly, the
administrators worked together promptly when a situation did arise.
Leadership Response
Through the efforts of Lawrence Foster, corporate vice president, good media
relations helped Johnson & Johnson to avert further damage by getting the message out
first, instead of later. Because of this, the company was able to keep customers satisfied
that the organization was looking out for their best interest and could be trusted to produce
safe products. CEO James Burke was instrumental as well in establishing good relations
with the public, working to let the public know how the organization was reducing the
possibility for future tampering incidents. (Ulmer, Sellnow, & Seeger, 2007)
Outcome
This case is still cited in numerous textbooks and case study collections as an
example of what to do in a crisis situation, due to the effective handling of the situation
and the outcome afterward. While the organization did not have a crisis plan in place, the
organizational leadership did work together quickly to minimize damage and retain
customer trust.
Crisis Plan: No
Successful Leadership Response: Yes
Successful Outcome: Yes
3.1.2 Exxon Valdez 1989 Oil Spill
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Details
The textbook example for poor crisis management from 1989, this case is still
cited today as an example of how not to handle a crisis situation. A 987 foot oil tanker,
the Valdez, caused an oil spill when it crashed on the rocks off the coast of Alaska in
1989. This was one of the largest oil spills off of American shores at the time, and it
caused much destruction of the coastal life. Exxon set up crisis headquarters in Valdez,
near the site of the spill. While this allowed those who came to the site to be near the
devastation, other sites were not set up in more easily reached locations. Exxon did have
a crisis plan if an oil spill were to occur, however, it was designed for a spill on a much
smaller scale and was not set up for a crisis of the magnitude that occurred (Fearn-Banks,
2007, 70-78).
Leadership response
Lawrence Rawl, Exxon chairman, waited nearly a week before issuing a statement
about the spill (Marra, 1998). This hands-off approach was not perceived well, giving
the appearance of being cold and uncaring. Not only that, but he did not even go to the
site of the oil spill until almost two weeks after the event (Law). This was not something
that was looked upon very favorably.
Outcome
While Exxon received, and still continues to receive, criticism for how it handled
the crisis in 1989, it recovered and became one of the most financially successful
companies in the United States in the mid-1990s (Marra, 1998). This may seem jarring
in light of how the event was handled, but the organization was able to survive, even
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thrive, in spite of the disaster. It did not, however, immediately return to favor in the eyes
of consumers or environmentalists.
Crisis Plan: Yes
Successful Leadership Response: No
Successful Outcome: No
3.2 Questions of Trust
3.2.1 The Roman Catholic Church Child Sex Abuse Scandal
Details
This case provides an example of a large organization that builds relationships
largely focused on trust. In this case, the trust was due to religious ties, complicating the
situation. A 2003 Pulitzer Prize winning series in the Boston Globe was an impetus for
greater investigation on a widespread scale into cases of child molestation committed by
priests in the Roman Catholic Church. Through investigation, it was uncovered that
Cardinal Bernard Law, archbishop of Boston, had knowingly sent a priest who had
received accusations of child molestation to another parish. More and more cases
continued to be discovered, and within a two year time span 150 priests in the Boston
diocese alone had been accused of child molestation (Henley, 2010).
Leadership response
Leaders throughout the Roman Catholic Church had very different approaches to
handling the crisis situation, so there was no one clear voice and message being spread.
By not having one message to relay to parishioners and the media, leaders in the Roman
Catholic Church did not convey a united front, weakening their response to this issue.
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The exposure of the crisis was also hampered due to unwillingness to expose the misdeeds
of colleagues (Burnett, 2002). A more united front by members of the clergy, along with
one clear official message from the Roman Catholic Church as a whole, could have gone
a long way in terms of helping minimize affects of the crisis situation. A more prompt
response would have gone a long way in maintaining positive community relations as
well.
Outcome
As a result of the aftermath of the abuse scandal, Catholic leaders in the United
States and other countries developed guidelines to aid in future instance where
communication would be important, such as the development of the Charter for the
Protection of Children and Young People (Barth, 2010). Hundreds of abuse cases
continue to be filed, as the situation seems to be ongoing. Settlement payments from the
Roman Catholic Church now total nearly $3 billion (Stern, 2011).
Crisis Plan: No
Successful Leadership Response: No
Successful Outcome: No
3.2.2 Dole Spinach Recall
Details
In 2006, an outbreak of E. coli contaminated large amounts of spinach that
resulted in the deaths of five people and sickened 205 others. The contaminated spinach
was ultimately determined to be from California. The FDA issued a recall on all fresh
spinach, and the industry took a long time to recover from the scare (Weise, 2007). The
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situation was terrible for both those affected by the contamination and those involved in
the industry.
Leadership response
The United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association planned an advertising
campaign for when the FDA lifted regulations, and Dole was at the forefront of the
impacted brands with its availability of information online (Thompson, 2006). The online
efforts, however, were the main extent of efforts to reach out to consumers. Some,
however, did not consider these efforts to be enough, in light of the situation. PR Week
contacted companies about their communication plans, but did not receive responses
(Schmelzer, 2006). Food contaminations are not something that occurs everyday, but it
does occurr frequently enough that having a crisis plan in place would have been the
responsible thing to do (Wertz, 2010).
Outcome
The FDA lifted its ban within weeks, but it took the industry much longer than
that to recover from the loss of sales both during the contamination outbreak and
afterward as consumers were skittish about purchasing fresh produce (Weise, 2007).
Consumers of fresh produce, often considering the food source to be a good source of
nutrition, were reasonably disturbed by the crisis situation, particularly with the
unprecedented ban on all fresh spinach by the FDA.
Crisis Plan: No
Successful Leadership Response: No
Successful Outcome: No
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3.3 Shooting Incidents
3.3.1 Columbine Massacre
Details
In April 1999, one of the largest-scale school shootings ever in the United States
took place at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Eric Harris and Dylan
Klebold killed 15, including themselves, and injured several more. (Johnson, 2004).
While school shootings do not happen all that frequently, a killing spree at a large school
is certainly a situation where crisis planning can be incorporated. More recently, school
shooting awareness has been heightened due to incidents at the University of Texas and
Virgina Tech University.
Leadership response
The school district did have a crisis plan in place, but according to Rick Kaufman,
executive director of Jefferson County Public Schools, administrators did not use it.
Kaufman, did, however, utilize his previous experience in designing a crisis plan to aid
his decisions of how to set up both internal and external communication. The
communication team set up a command center, away from the parent relocation sites
(Fearn-Banks, 2007). While a better laid out and practiced plan would have been
preferable, Kaufman was able to lead his communication team without a plan, even
though there were a number of setbacks. The communication team consulted with other
communication professionals across the country, and analyzed their messaging every day
to see if any changes were occurring in both awareness and attitude toward the event
(Havell, 2000).
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Outcome
The Columbine tragedy gave greater awareness of the possibility of violence in
school settings, and gave many government and school officials nationwide reason to
devote more efforts toward emergency and crisis communication planning (Gainey,
2005). Additionally, Kaufman, who is APR certified, now provides information on
dealing with crisis school situations (National School Public Relations Association,
2010).
Crisis Plan: No
Successful Leadership Response: Yes
Successful Outcome: Yes
3.3.2 McDonald’s San Ysidro Massacre
Details
A sniper, James Huberty, opened fire at a McDonald’s restaurant in San Ysidro,
California in 1984, killing 21 and wounding 19. Acting alone, this was the largest
massacre by a sole person in the United State at that point in time. It is an important
milestone in the history of mass murders in the U.S. A crisis plan was not in place in this
situation, for either the restaurant or the police department (Gresko, 2004). While tragic,
communication professionals are more familiar with cases such as this today than they
were at the time.
Leadership response
The McDonald’s Corporation, led by Don Horwitz, worked to put the needs and
concerns for those directly impacted by the tragedy above the organization. This included
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having executives attend some of the funerals, suspending advertising campaigns,
dismantling the building, and donating the land to the community for a community
college. (Simola, 2003). McDonald’s did not have a crisis plan in place to deal with a
situation such as this, so the leadership of the organization planned to do what they could
to consider the consumers, victims, and their families before they looked out for the
organization.
Outcome
McDonald’s received praise after the incident for their handling of the crisis in
the manner that it did (Gainey, 2005). McDonald’s handled the situation in a way that
was not immediately beneficial to the organization but rather beneficial to those who were
affected by the tragedy. Additionally, the city of San Diego formed a SWAT team to
handle dangerous situations such as this one after this incident occurred (Gresko, 2004).
McDonald’s did not have to do everything that they did as an organization, but they acted
as they did because their leadership was more concerned about caring for customers, the
victims, and their families than for anything else.
Crisis Plan: No
Successful Leadership Response: Yes
Successful Outcome: Yes
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CHAPTER 4
CONCLUSION
4.1 Summary
A crisis plan was not ultimately the deciding factor as to whether an organization
successfully handled a crisis management situation. Good leadership, while not always a
deciding factor, did play a role in some of the cases, both with and without crisis plans.
This fits in with the assertion by Francis J. Marra that crisis plans are a factor in the
outcome of a crisis situation, but not the only factor (Marra, 1998).
Out of the 6 cases studied, 5 did not have a crisis plan, and 1 did, with 3 of the
crisis situations having a successful outcome, and 3 not having a successful outcome.
None of the successful cases had a crisis plan.
Out of the 6 cases studied, 3 had a successful leadership response, and 3 did not,
with 3 of the crisis situations having a successful outcome, and 3 not having a successful
outcome. Of the 3 cases with a successful leadership response (Johnson & Johnson,
Columbine Massacre, and McDonald’s San Ysidro Massacre), all of the cases had a
successful outcome.
Out of the 6 cases studied, 3 of the crisis situations had a successful outcome, 3
did not have a successful outcome. Two (The Roman Catholic Church Child Abuse Sex
Scandal and Dole Spinach Recall) of the 3 unsuccessful outcome situations (Exxon
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Valdez 1989 Oil Spill, the Roman Catholic Child Abuse Sex Scandal, and the Dole
Spinach Recall) did not have crisis plans or successful leadership responses. The 1 case
that did have a crisis plan (Exxon Valdez 1989 Oil Spill) did not have a successful
leadership response.
4.2 Further Study
This has been a small pilot study into the field of crisis management that should
be expanded in the future. Additional research should include more cases with more in
depth research into professional journals and case studies as well as with direct input from
communication professionals, including surveys, focus groups, and interviews focusing
on the value of crisis plans to their professional career, and the impact that leadership
response has had on crisis situations.
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REFERENCES
Barth, T. (2010). Crisis Management in the Catholic Church: Lessons for Public
Administrators. Public Administration Review, Volume 70, Issue 5 , 780-791.
Fearn-Banks, K. (2007). Crisis Communications: A Casebook Approach.
Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers.
Gainey, B. S. (2005). Public Engagement, Social Responsibility, and Ethical
Leadership: Building Relationships for Effective Crisis Management. The Impact of PR
in Creating a More Ethical World: Why Can't We All Get Along? (pp. 108-117). South
Miami, Florida: University of Miami.
Havell, M. (2000). The Columbine Tragedy: Managing the Unthinkable. PRSA.
Johnson, K. (2004, February 27). Columbine Evidence is Placed on Chilling
Public Display. New York Times. Retrieved April 14, 2011, from
http://www.unc.edu/~havell/Columbine%20HS.pdf
Law, T. (n.d.). The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: A Case Study Using Theory to
Understand Crisis Management. Retrieved April 8, 2011, from Taryn Law:
http://tarynlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/The-Exxon-Valdez-Oil-Spill-Public-
Relations-THEORY.pdf
Marra, F. J. (1998). Crisis Communication Plans: Poor Predictors of Excellent
Crisis Public Relations. Publications Review , 461-474.
National School Public Relations Association. (2010). Retrieved April 8, 2011,
from www.nspra.org: http://www.nspra.org/crisis
24. 18
Schmelzer, R. (2006, September 25). Spinach reps coordinate responses to E. coli
scare. PR Week .
Stern, A. (2011, April 11). Abuse claims against priests rise in 2010. Reuters.
Thompson, S. (2006, September 20). Spinach Growers Advertise to Bring Back
Consumers. Advertising Age .
Weise, E. a. (2007, September 20). Spinach Recall: 5 faces. 5 agonizing deaths. 1
year later. USA TODAY .
Wertz, E. K. (2010). Cultural issues in crisis communication. Journal of
Communication Management , 81-94.
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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Rebekah Karth is a public relations senior graduating summa cum laude in May.
Rebekah spent her first two years in college at Midland College, where she served as
student body president and editor of the student newspaper. During her time at the
University of Texas at Arlington, Rebekah has been active on campus, serving in roles
such as Liberal Arts Constituency Council president and Public Relations Student Society
of America treasurer. Her research interests include crisis management, public affairs,
and community relations. After graduation, Rebekah will be staying at UTA to earn her
M.A. in Communication.
