Crisis Management by Jaishri Jethwaney as on 27/09/2013

"Whatever has happened has happened, there's a life beyond it all" 

How to handle a Crisis:

-> Develop a strategy based on worst case scenario (hope for the best and plan for the worst, always)

-> Vital importance to be given to pre-thinking (you should fore think about an impending crisis)

-> Critical few minutes when crisis happens are very important (you need to tackle the crisis, before it crystallises after which it is very difficult to change anything, you simply can't go back in time)  

-> be alert on graphics (you need to be providing pictures of the said crisis than rather have media have a take on their own, for a simple reason that you'll be controlling what the media needs to see and what not to)

-> Journo tracking (tracking journalists)

-> Isolate the crisis team (from teh rest of the team, crisis management needs a focussed team working on the crisis alone and not be burdened with any other responsibilities)

-> Know your friends and advisors (a crisis will help you in knowing who's who, another positive to take away when a crisis does happen)

-> Take calculated risks when taking on the might

  

Failures whilst handling Crisis :

-> Dishonesty (on the part of the crisis management)

-> Failure to prepare for the crisis in the first place.

-> Shortsightedness of organisations in putting of their long term goals. 

"Turning a Crisis into an Opportunity" a good crisis team allows you to do just that. A good crisis team should do just that. 

Benoit's Image Repair Theory 

- Simple Denial 

- Shifting Blame 

- Bolster 

- Minimize 

- Differentiate 

- Transcend

- Attack Accuser 

- Compensate 

- Corrective Action 

- Mortification 

"Media is the oxygen of the perpetrators of violence"

Classic Case Study in this regard :

- Texaco's Racial Discrimination 

- Cadbury's Worm infested Chocolate 

- Toyota's recall of 8.8 million vehicles

- Mattel's toxic toys