Pre-crisis communication & planning
Crises are unpredictable and no human being or institution is invulnerable. A crisis is one of the global parity blind to event, traditions, sexual category, religious conviction, career and earnings. Crisis is a condition that intimidates to cause harm to people and organization .They are barely designed, they spring unexpectedly and interfere with normal operation of the organization. It poses serious disturbance to business, tarnishes reputation and results to adverse effects to the shareholders and share value (Sandra 2006). Thus, prior crisis communication and planning is necessary to mitigate the damages. This is because breakdown at any stage in an organization can cause severe damage to stakeholders, losses, and even collapse of an organization. ..
Question one
I have worked with a bread-manufacturing factory for ten year. During the period of my employment in this factory, I have encountered numerous risks but the most severe was the death of the workers in the factory production chamber when fire broke out due electrical breakdown. This resulted to death of seven employees and injuring several others. The cause of fire was not expeditiously explained to the public and the shareholders. This resulted to confusion, misinterpretation, and some people terming it as intentional instigation. Consequently, this tarnished the image of the factory. Some shareholders withdrew their shares and sales of the company dropped by forty percent leading to financial constrain in the factory. Three departmental managers also resigned.
I could have constituted pre-crisis communication sector in the factory. The main purpose of this sector is to prevent any risk that may result to crisis. The preparation in the sector entails putting in place crisis management plans, choosing and training the members of the team and performing exercise test to determine the effectiveness of the crisis management plan and team (Sandra 2006). Communication management plan would have taken minimal time during crisis via pre-allocating duties, prior collection of vital information, which act as reference. This would have enlightened the team on what duties and responsibilities they have in an event of crisis. I could have had a swift and proficient spokesperson to convey the information to the public and shareholders via a suitable communication channels (Pamela 2011). Subsequently, the company could have mitigated the aftermath of the tragedy and retain the value of the shares and high demand of its product. The occurrence of the event has made me realize the importance of pre-crisis management in the organization. This sector formulates plans and procedures for curbing any unprecedented risk in an organization.
Question two
The effective ways to deal with the media demands knowing the reporters and their roles. Be conversant with their media programs and articles. This captures the reporter`s attention and interest. Put the salient points plain and brief (Ron, John & Michael 2008). This ensures maintenance of relevancy throughout the interview and enhances introduction of every statement. During the interview with the media, repeat the name of the company, its products, services and websites so that the message is remembered. Give the reporter time to ask questions. This prevents going overboard and viewed passionate about the business. When appearing on television or video, it is necessary to take media guidance courses. Coaching will enhances impression, which is vital for success with media. Pitch the story in the morning when the reporters are on their work desks. Follow up with the reporter after pitching the story. This can be done via calling, emailing, fax or handwritten remarks. Have e-forum websites were investors could comment. The manager may also participate on the forum to state the position of the company on certain issues.
Ineffective techniques used in dealing with media include redistribution of deliberate misleading advertisements with the aim of making more sales. Most companies have also used the media ineffectively by posting blanket promotion to make artificial demands (Susan, Andy & Ed 2006). Some media users normally take part in the manipulation and sensationalism of news reporting. In the social network, some subscribers engage in attack ads and posting of mockery messages to disgrace other. Majority of writers engage in plagiarism and unscrupulous businesspersons engage in downloading of copyrighted music and selling in the market.
Smart filters in the information network never worked as expected. It was expected to replace the use of libraries since it would provide the subscribers by customized information by moving across online databases, text administration systems and news services. At later stages of installation, it was realized that filters could not work across networks that supports various application and information properties on many processing stages.
References
Amass, S., (2006) The science of homeland security. Indianapolis: Purdue University Press
Walaski, P., (2011). Risk and Crisis Communications: Methods and Messages. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons
Sweeney, S., MacLellan, A., & Dorey, E. (2006). 3G Marketing on the Internet, Seventh Edition: Third Generation Internet Marketing Strategies for Online Success. San Diego: Maximum Press
DeLord, R., Burpo, J., & Shanno, M. (2008). Police Union Power, Politics, and Confrontation in the 21st Century: New Challenges, New Issues. Illinois: Charles C Thomas Publisher
