Crisis in Organizations II / Edition 2

by Laurence Barton

Overview

Crisis in Organizations is the most definitive and thorough work in the field of crisis management, providing detailed research and sound advice on preventing and managing crisis. Readers explore the array of incidents that face managers and organizations in crisis through a thoughtful blend of academic case studies and practitioner insights. An analysis of over 1400 disasters was completed in creating Crisis in Organizations to allow the reader to benefit from the learning curve of those confronted with real crisis.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780324024296
Publisher:	Cengage Learning
Publication date:	04/18/2000
Series:	Swc-General Business Series
Edition description:	REV
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.34(w) x 9.06(h) x 0.47(d)

About the Author

Dr. Larry Barton is president of DeVry Institute of Technology in Phoenix, AZ. He is a leading expert in crisis management and management communications, and has authored two books for ITP: Crisis In Organizations (1993, second edition forthcoming March 2000) and Ethics: The Enemy In The Workplace (1995). Dr. Barton served as Director of Issues Management of Motorola, Inc., from 1994-95, managing global public relations for the technology giant. He was promoted to Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs in 1995 and led global PR for the company's semiconductor division until he decided to return to academe last year. Dr. Barton taught organizational behavior and crisis communication at Boston College, the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, Harvard Business School and Penn State Graduate Center prior to being named president of DeVry in 1999. He received a coveted Fulbright Senior Fellow Award in 1994, studying comparative Japanese management of crises such as product recalls and workplace violence. He was named Teacher of the Year in 1992 by the Board of Regents of the University of Nevada. As a consultant, Dr. Barton has managed response to over 300 serious incidents worldwide, including extortion, terrorism targeting industry, environmental incidents and rumors in the workplace. He has written for over 35 refereed academic journals worldwide and is the editor of seven books. He has been interviewed on ABC Nightline and CNBC and profiled in The Wall Street Journal. Dr. Barton's research interests include crisis management, workplace violence and change management.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1	The Crisis Primer	1
	What I've Learned	2
	The Author's Personal Story	5
	From Chaos to Normalcy	7
Chapter 2	Recognizing a Crisis Situation	11
	The Strategy of Crisis Management: A Team Approach	14
	Senior Administration	14
	Technical Operations	15
	Public Affairs	15
	Public Relations	15
	Consumer Affairs	16
	Investor Relations	16
	Advertising	17
	Who's in Charge?	17
	Chances Are	21
	The Fault, Dear Brutus, Is Not in Our Stars, But in Ourselves	21
	Case Study: Three Mile Island: The Impossible Accident Becomes Possible	22
	Case Study: A White House in Disarray	25
	Case Study: Exxon: No One Is in Control	26
	Review Questions	27
Chapter 3	Anticipating Crisis Is a Tool of Smart Management	29
	Assessing Risk	31
	What Could Harm Us?	33
	Who's Ready for Crisis?	34
	Assessing Crisis Preparedness	35
	Private Companies: Different Risks	36
	Warning Signals	37
	Who Owns the Radar?	37
	Communications Channels	38
	Risk Associated with the Product or Service	39
	Review Questions	40
Chapter 4	Public Opinion and Crisis: From Main Street to Wall Street	43
	The Influence of Public Opinion	45
	Public Relations Is Born	46
	Reporters as Messengers	48
	Modern History and Crises	49
	An Amalgam of Intelligence and Rhetoric	50
	Manic-Depressive Crisis Management	51
	Meet the Press	53
	A New Citizen Activism	55
	The Proactive Company and Reactive Manager	57
	Review Questions	59
Chapter 5	Sound Bites: Effective Communications When "It" Hits the Fan	61
	What's a Nice Company Like Yours Doing in a Headline Like This?	62
	Stakeholders	63
	Goal	66
	Message	67
	Who Will Speak?	68
	Audience-Centric Thinking	69
	Three Questions Asked in Every Crisis	70
	Evaluating Your Crisis Response	71
	Tools of Crisis Response	71
	Press Releases	73
	Press Kits	73
	News Conferences	75
	Meet the Press: Preparation Is the Key	75
	Tools of Crisis Communication	80
	Video News Releases (VNRs)	80
	The Legality of Crisis Communication	81
	Review Questions	84
Chapter 6	What Will We Tell Our Employees?	85
	Employees: The Hidden Asset	86
	Communicate Before a Crisis	87
	Telling the Truth, Telling It Quickly	88
	When Should the Organization Communicate with Employees?	88
	The Right Staff	89
	Employee Activism and Lawsuits	91
	Communicating Bad News	96
	Review Questions	102
Chapter 7	Managing Other Complex Crises	103
	Market Risk Is Still a People Problem	104
	Sell That Stock!	105
	Investors Are the Pulse	106
	Who Cares?	106
	Communicating with Investors	107
	Product Controversies	109
	Recalls Cause Financial and Reputation Harm	109
	General Motors: "Make Them Pay"	111
	A Classic: The Tylenol Recall	113
	Tampons Under Scrutiny	115
	Perrier: Managing a Recall Across the Atlantic	115
	Product Boycotts	116
	Taking Charge During Product Problems	118
	Who Listens to Rumors? Unfortunately, A Lot of Us	119
	Not in My Backyard	120
	Strike One!	125
	Preparing for a Strike	126
	Service Disruption	127
	Review Questions	127
Chapter 8	Crime: A Growing Menace for Business	129
	The Lessons of Littleton	130
	Signals	130
	The Long Island Massacre	132
	Unabomber: Another Loner Kills	134
	Why Intuition Matters	134
	Security at Work: Is There Any?	137
	Luby's: A Restaurant as Victim	138
	Resources on Crime and Helping Victims	142
	Internet and Computer Crime	146
	Terrorism: Death by Politics	147
	Interview: Edward V. Badolato
	Companies Are a Major Target for Counterintelligence and Theft	149
	How Could Japan Ignore the Enemy Within?	153
	Review Questions	156
Chapter 9	Crisis and the Environment	159
	Corporations Change Their Tune	161
	Love Canal: A Neighborhood at the Nucleus of Crisis	162
	Chernobyl: A Complete Accounting Could Take Centuries	165
	Regulatory Enforcements as Deterrent	166
	Responding to Environmental Abuse	167
	Ecoterrorism	170
	Case Study: The City of Love Needs More Than a Hug	173
	Review Questions	176
Chapter 10	Weather As a Crisis Force	179
	Why Care About Weather?	181
	Advances Made in Early Warning	181
	A Single Day: Despair, Hope	182
	Technology Advancements Help with Emergencies	183
	Interview: Richard Masoner
	"The City Crumbled...Broken Beyond Repair"	184
	Review Questions	188
Chapter 11	This Is Hospitality?	191
	Who'd Want To Leave Home?	192
	Other Travel Risks	194
	"Coke Cannot Seem To Do Anything Right"	199
	Hotels: Ground Zero?	201
	Review Questions	204
Chapter 12	Preparing Managers for Crisis: Simulating and Testing	205
	The Crisis Management Team	207
	Attorney	207
	Public Relations Coordinator	208
	Technical Resources	208
	Controller	209
	IT Manager	210
	Regulatory or Public Affairs Expert	211
	Office of CEO	211
Phase 1	Fact Finding	212
Phase 2	Risk Assessment	213
	Role-Play in Action	214
	Synergy: A Meeting of Minds	215
Phase 3	Communicating with Stakeholders	216
	The Crisis Response Center	217
	Personal Response to Crisis	220
	Stress Points in a Crisis	221
	Review Questions	224
Appendix A	Crisis Management Plan Template	225
	Table of Contents	228
	Acknowledgment	228
	Your Crisis Team Must Be Reachable 24/7!	229
	Your Trade Association and Other Key Partners	232
	What Could Go Wrong?	236
	The Crisis Log	240
	These People Also Matter!	242
	Crisis Report	244
	Who Called? What Do They Want?	246
	Public Inquiry	247
	Information Systems (IS) Emergency Plan	248
	News Media Inquiry	252
	"All Politics Is Local."	254
	Customer Communication	256
	Additional Target Audiences and Categories	257
	Three Questions You Must Answer in Every Crisis	258
	Chemicals: A Unique Crisis	260
	Who Else Should Be Called?	262
Appendix B	Crisis Web Resources	263
	Trauma and Post-Incident Management	263
	Workplace Violence	263
	Crisis Management and Crisis Communications	264
	Business Recovery	264
	Crisis Communication	264
	Disaster Response	264
	Bibliography	265
	Indices
	Company Index	273
	Name Index	275
	Subject Index	277

Editorial Reviews

This extraordinary rich and well-written work should be not only a part of management training programs, but also required reading for every senior manager.


Barton's book is rare, adopted by leading colleges for classroom use, and by American Express, Nabisco, and others in training programs. It is scholarly yet practical...breathtaking in depth.

From the Publisher