Crises management

1. By/ MahmoudShaqria
‫شقريه‬ ‫محمد‬ ‫محمود‬

2.  Introduction
 Definition of Crisis
 Definition Crises Response
 Common features of Crisis
 Causes of crises
 Situational Crisis Communication Theory
 Reputational threat
 Types of crises
 Crisis response strategies
 References

3.  Organizational crises are becoming increasingly
frequent and devastating, In fact, crises occur daily.
 Researchers agree that an organization’s actions and
response strategies have a significant impact on the
organization’s reputation
 They are used to repair the reputation, to reduce
adverse effect and to prevent negative behavioral
intentions (Coombs, 2006).
 Crisis response strategies were studied
comprehensively in Communications research

4. Definition of Crisis
 Is any event that is unexpected lead to, an
unstable and dangerous situation affecting an
individual, group, community or whole society

5. Crises Response
 The provision of emergency services and
public assistance during or immediately after
crises in order to save lives reduces health
impacts, ensure public safety and meet the
basic subsistence needs of the people affected.

6.  The situation materializes unexpectedly
 Decisions are required urgently
 Time is short.
 Urgent demands for information are received.
 There is sense of loss of control.
 Pressures build over time.
 Routine business become increasingly difficult
 Reputation suffers.

7.  Knowledge contributes to the causes of the crisis in
achieving the correct response reflected in the decision to
take effective and rapid, and each crisis causes the most
important results:
 Misunderstandings: an error in receiving and
understanding the information available about the crisis as
a result of its decrease or overlap.
 Misjudgment: The uncertainty of information or giving
value to information exaggerated the result of self-
confidence.

8.  Mismanagement: because of randomness or
administrative tyranny or lack of systems of
administrative processes.
 Conflict of interests and objectives : the
differences of personality, interests or
tendencies of the parties to the conflict, and
hence their objectives and means of achieving
them.

9.  Human errors: weakness of the ability and willingness of
the parties to the crisis to deal with them, the absence of
training or lack of experience or low motivation.
 Rumors: The use of false and misleading information and
the timing and climate of tension and anxiety leads to the
crisis, because of lack of facts in the public or confusion
officials.

10.  Despair: frustration or inability or loss of hope
in solving problems, which is attributed to
administrative repression or deterioration of
administrative systems.
 Lack of trust in others and in the organization
as a result of fear, tyranny or inefficiency of the
administration

11. Situational Crisis Communication Theory
 The situational crisis communication theory (SCCT) was
developed and refined by Coombs (2006).
 SCCT is comprised of three core elements:
 (The crisis type, crisis response strategies, and a system for
matching the crisis type and crisis response strategies
(Coombs, 2006)
 SCCT suggests that the key to determining the most
effective strategic crisis response understands the crisis
situation and the amount of reputational threat being
posed by the crisis.

12. Reputational threat
 Is how much damage a crisis could inflict on an
organization if no action is taken to respond to it.
 Initial crisis responsibility is how much the
organization’s stakeholders attribute the crisis to the
organization; how responsible the key publics hold
the organization itself for the crisis.
 In assessing the level of reputational threat facing an
organization, crisis managers must first determine the
type of crisis facing the organization.

13. Types of crises:
 Coombs has identified three "crisis clusters," or types of crises, in his
SCCT research:
 (The victim cluster, the accidental cluster, and the intentional cluster).
 In the victim cluster, the organization is not attributed as the cause of
the crisis; rather, the organization is viewed as a victim.

14.  In the accidental cluster, the organization has been
nominally attributed as the cause of the crisis, but the
situation is generally viewed by stakeholders as being
unintentional or simply accidental.
 In the intentional cluster, the organization is given all
or most of the attributions for the crisis and shoulders
the responsibility.
 In this case the crisis is considered deliberate.

15.  Victim cluster: In these crisis types, the
organization is also a victim of the crisis.
 (Weak attributions of crisis responsibility = Mild
reputational threat)
 Natural disaster: Acts of nature damage an
organization such as an earthquake.

16.  Rumor: False and damaging information about
an organization is being circulated.
 Workplace violence: Current or former
employee attacks current employees onsite.
 Product tampering/Malevolence: External
agent causes damage to an organization.

17.  Accidental cluster: In these crisis types, the
organizational actions leading to the crisis were
unintentional.
 (Minimal attributions of crisis responsibility = Moderate
reputational threat)
 Challenges: Stakeholders claim an organization is
operating in an inappropriate manner.

18.  Technical-error accidents: A technology or
equipment failure causes an industrial
accident.
 Technical-error product harm: A technology or
equipment failure causes a product to be
recalled.

19.  Intentional cluster: In these crisis types, the
organization knowingly placed people at risk, took
inappropriate actions or violated a law/regulation.
 (Strong attributions of crisis responsibility = Severe
reputational threat)
 Human-error accidents : Human error causes an industrial
accident.

20.  Human-error product harm : Human error causes
a product to be recalled.
 Organizational misdeed with no injuries:
Stakeholders are deceived without injury.
 Organizational misdeed management
misconduct: Laws or regulations are violated by
management.
 Organizational misdeed with injuries:
Stakeholders are placed at risk by management
and injuries occur.

21.  Once the levels of crisis responsibility and reputational threat
have been determined, SCCT provides crisis managers with a
theoretical base to their strategic crisis response.
 SCCT’s list for responding to crises assumes that the
organization has accepted some level of responsibility for the
crisis.
 Coombs found that the primary responses to crises in SCCT
form three groups:
 deny, diminish, and rebuild.
 Each of these strategies helps the organization get its side of the
story into the media.

22.  After all how the crisis is framed in the media will
determine how the organization’s public view the
situation.
 The media’s frames become the stakeholders’ frames.
 The deny strategies: help establish a crisis frame and
sever any perceived connection between the organization
and the crisis.
 If the organization is not involved, or if the crisis is a
rumor the organization can dispel, and stakeholders and
the media accept that there is no crisis, no reputational
harm will be done.

23.  Diminish crisis responses: attempt to assure the
organization’s publics that the crisis is not as bad as it
seems or that the organization had nothing to do with
the situation.
 These strategies help lessen the connection between the
organization and the crisis and help the organization’s
publics see the crisis in a less negative light.
 However, these strategies must be reinforced with
credible evidence..

24.  Rebuild strategies help change perceptions of an
organization during a crisis by offering real or symbolic
forms of aid to victims and asking their forgiveness.
 These strategies attempt to take the focus off the crisis
by taking positive action.

25.  Bolstering ‫تعزيزز‬ , attempts to increase positive reputational
perceptions by presenting "new, positive information about
the organization and/or remind[ing] stakeholders of past
good works by the organization".
 This strategy can bolster good will and arouse feelings of
sympathy toward the organization, but Coombs warns,
should be used to supplement the primary responses, not as
replacements.

27.  References
 Coombs, W.T., Holladay, S.J. (2012) The Handbook of
Crisis Communication , pdf, Oxford, Wiley-Blackwell.
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situational_crisis_com
munication_theory
 Journal of Media and Communication Studies Vol. 3(6),
pp. 203-211, June 2011Available online
http://www.academicjournals.org/jmcsISSN 2141-
2545 ©2011 Academic Journals
 AIRPLANES ,Helene Stavem Kyhn, December 2008
,SITUATIONAL CRISIS COMMUNICATION
THEORY: ITS USE IN A COMPLEX CRISIS WITH
SCANDINAVIAN AIRLINES’ GROUNDING OF
DASH 8-Q400
 Timothy Coombs,pdf.2006 ,The Protective Powers of
Crisis Response Strategies: Managing Reputational
Assets During a Crisis.

28. Thank you