Risk Issues and Crisis Management

The reputation of an organization influence who we buy from, work for, supply to and invest in. In today’s complex environment, organizations have to understand and respond rapidly to shifting public values, rising expectations, demands for public consultation and increasingly intrusive news media. This is particularly important when things go wrong. The third edition of Risk Issues and Crisis Management has been completely revised and aims to define reputation, explore how to value it and provide practical guidelines for effective reputation management.

It features new sections on the rise of the socially conscious consumer and the new non-government world order as well as the growing imperative for corporate social responsibility. Featuring new case studies on the MMR vaccine, the Olympic Games and Coca-Cola’s launch of Dasani water, and issue management models from organizations such as Diamler-Chrysler, management agenda moves and yet how slowly businesses learn. Written in a practical, lucid and easy-to-follow style, Risk Issues and Crisis Management shows how issues and crises can be handled successfully and effectively with minimum damage and disruption.

Contents:

• Part 1 Risk Issues Management
• Outside-in thinking
• Who can we trust?
• Consumer power and the rise of a non-governmental order
• Case study: SHAC attack
• Dealing with risk
• Case study: MMR
• Handling the organizational response
• The advocacy approach
• Public consultation – building dialogue into the communications process
• The rise of the precautionary principle
• Case study: phthalates in toys
• Case study: mobile phones and radiation
• Summary
• Issues management defined
• What is issues management?
• What about the sceptics?
• What is an issue?
• Who should practise issues management?
• What are the functions of issues management?
• Summary
• Planning an issues management programme – an issues management model
• Issue lifecycle
• Case study: Norplant
• Case study: Monsanto wrecked brand and lost opportunity
• Case study: the pill panic, a lesson in over-caution
• Case study: ‘In the goo’ – industry failing to learn the lessons
• Case study: Intel
• The importance of early action
• Case study: 2004 Olympic scandals – where now for world’s greatest sporting event?
• Summary
• CSR: the new moral code for doing business
• Introduction
• The growing business imperative
• What constitutes good socially responsible corporate behaviour
• New business values
• CSR best practice policy development and management
• Summary
• An issue ignored is a crisis ensured
• Case study: decommissioning the Brent Spar – implications for a global industry
• Case study: mad cows and Englishmen – the story of BSE
• Case study: drug pricing in South Africa – the business perspective is not the only perspective
• Case study: CFCs – finding an essential breathing space
• Case study: Ford and Firestone – a management and communication failure
• Implementing an issues management programme
• Examples of issue management models and processes
• Summary
• Part 2 Crisis Management
• So it hits the fan – now what?
• Case study: supersonic disaster
• Case study: the Asian tsunami and the travel industry
• Business crises
• Case study: Sayonara Citibank
• How the mighty fall
• Case study: Challenger space shuttle tragedy
• Case study: Piper Alpha catastrophe
• Case study: Paddington rail disaster
• CEOs are not infallible
• Case study: Marks & Spencer
• Product-related crises
• Case study: the Tylenol tale
• Case study: what took the fizz out of Perrier
• Case study: Coca-Cola
• Who will have a crises?
• What kind of crisis will happen?
• Summary
• Perception is the reality
• A tale of three sorry tankers
• Case study: Exxon Valdez
• Case study: Braer
• Case study: Sea Empress in distress
• Summary
• The media in crisis situations
• How JAL and British Midland got it right
• Gaining media support
• Case study: Hillsborough
• The media as an ally
• Case study: Thomas Cook coach crash
• Case study: Inghams Austria coach crash
• Monitoring the media
• Summary
• The legal perspective
• Legal pitfalls when communicating in crisis
• Case study: Herald of Free Enterprise
• Case study: TotalFina and the Erika oil-spill disaster
• So what is the lawyer’s role in a crisis?
• Compensation
• Ex-gratia payments
• Summary
• Planning for the unexpected
• Calm and positive thinking
• Deeds versus declarations
• Planning to manage the crisis
• Appointing the teams
• Communication hardware
• Crisis prevention
• Selecting team members
• Putting the plan in writing
• Testing everything
• Summary
• Crisis communications management
• Stena Challenger grounding
• Background information to seize the initiative
• Set up a press centre
• Managing the press conference
• Dealing with the television interview
• Coping with hundreds of telephone calls
• Responding to calls from relatives
• The news release
• Keeping employees informed
• Using your website
• The role of the emergency services
• When it is all over
• Summary