I believe the key messages from this weeks readings were…that prior planning to a crisis is essential if an organization wants to survive the crisis. In the Johnston and Zawawi reading there’s a quote that says “that 80% of corporations which have experienced a disaster, without prior planning to deal with crisis, have found themselves out of business within five years (IATA, 2003).” This clearly shows the importance of crisis management planning to the survival of an organization after the event. Recognition of possible crises, strategic planning, and a crisis management team and plan that has been well practiced should be considered one of the most important things an organization can have in place. The other key message was about handling the crisis in a way that shows your publics that they are at the forefront in your concern.
The key points in the readings could be applied to my groups work in that…Toastmasters would definitely need to show their publics that they were foremost in the organizations worries. Using a situation like the white supremacist links we created in the tute, Toastmasters’ main priority would be reassuring their members and volunteers that they were not racist, as implied by the allegations, and cared about every single one of their members, no matter what racial background they were from.
The readings made me think more about PR theory and practice in that…every potential situation needs to be thought of and planned for before it actually happens. The job of a PR person is constant and ever changing because issues like terrorism are always either arising or becoming more prominent in society and a PR professional has to be on the front foot of it all.
The readings related to the other reading I've done in previous weeks in that…the planning and research stage it extremely important in crisis management. A lot of the time the crises thought up will never come to fruition but the steps to be taken if they ever do need to be considered carefully and stored away in case they’re ever needed.
Required reading for Week 6
- Mackey, S. (2004) Crisis and Issues Management. In J. Johnston & C. Zawawi (eds.), Public relations: theory and practice (pp. 287-313). Sydney: Allen and Unwin
- Taylor, M. and Kent, M (2006).Taxonomy of mediated crisis responses. Public Relations Review, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 29 December 2006 Science Direct.
- Davis, B. (2006).Crisis Communication Practices at an International Relief Agency. Business Communication Quarterly. 69(3) 329-337.
- Campbell, R. (2004). Chapter 3, Creating and Managing a Crisis Team in Crisis Control: preventing and managing corporate crises. (pp. 41-59) Sydney: Penguin.
