THEME SESSION 1 – CRISIS COMMUNICATION
WHAT IS A CRISIS?
A crisis is a turning point in a situation, where an important change takes place, that could determine a
negative outcome.
For organization, crisis include:
- Natural crisis(floods, earthquakes, fires)
- Political crises (corruption, changes in government
- Internal crises (misconduct, abuse)
A crisis is the perception of an unpredictable event that threatens important expectancies of stakeholders
related to health, safety, environmental, and economic issues, and can seriously impact an organization’s
performance and generate negative outcomes.
STAKEHOLDERS;
Stakeholders in a crisis can be defined as individuals, groups, communities or organizations, who may affect, be
affected by or perceive themselves to be affected by the crisis.
For example: opening a new restaurant
- What food
- Suppliers
- Trash
- Alles wat erbij komt kijken en mensen waarvan je hulp nodig hebt.
WHY STAKEHOLDERS?
- Interest around stakeholders comes from stakeholder theory, an economic theory that posits that
organization are embedded in a series of relationships with other organizations, communities, and
institutions such as governments.
o According to this theory, the goal of an organization should be the mediation of everyone’s
interests (and not just making a profit)
o “an organization’s” success is dependent on how well it manages the relationships with key
groups such as customers, employees, suppliers, communities, financiers and others that can
affect the realization of its purpose.
STAKEHOLDER CLASSIFICATION: WHY AND HOW?
- Organizations as networks
o Most organizations, no matter if NGO or commercial, are involved in a number of
relationships that include people inside and outside of the organization
o When thinking of how to respond to a crisis, organizations should understand:
Which stakeholders are affected
How seriously they are affected
, What are the consequences of the stakeholders being affected.
o This requires a classification
STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT:
- At the center of establishing and maintaining relationships with stakeholders is communication.
Organizations should:
o Be aware of whom to relate to in case of a crisis
o Involve stakeholders in pre-crisis preparedness, for crises that can be prevented
o Establish appropriate communication channels for each stakeholders
FOUR PHASES OF STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT
Step 1: identify stakeholders
Step 2: analyze stakeholders
Step 3: plan stakeholder communication
Step 4: engage stakeholders
TWO FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS
1. How to define and identify stakeholders?
2. How to manage the relationship with various stakeholder groups?
PRIMARY VS SECONDARY STAKEHOLDERS
- Primary stakeholders: those who are directly, significantly or potentially affected by the activities of
the organization (employees, customers, suppliers). This can also mean those who are directly,
significantly and potentially by a crisis.
, - Secondary stakeholders: Those indirectly affected or for whom the impact is not that direct, such as
the media, special interest groups and authorities restaurant, the press is secondary stakeholder.
They are going to talk about but they are not immediate afftected.
INTERNAL VS EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS
- Internal stakeholders: directly affected and take part in the organization’s decision making and
operations. Managers, owners, employees.
- External stakeholders: not involved in the organization’s operations. Customers, suppliers, authorities.
ORGANIZATIONAL LINKAGE
Normative stakeholders
Those the organization has a common interest with, shares similar problems or values. For example,
universities and middle schools might be each other’s normative stakeholders
Diffusive stakeholders
Stakeholders who are not involved in a company and only appear in the context of a crisis (the media,
or activists)
Functional stakeholders
Stakeholders who are essential for the management of the crisis. (depending on the crisis) public
security, police, ambulances.
Enabling stakeholders
Stakeholders who have the authority to define the parameters of a company’s crisis management,
regulators, governments
MATRIX MODEL
WHAT IS A CRISIS?
A crisis is a turning point in a situation, where an important change takes place, that could determine a
negative outcome.
For organization, crisis include:
- Natural crisis(floods, earthquakes, fires)
- Political crises (corruption, changes in government
- Internal crises (misconduct, abuse)
A crisis is the perception of an unpredictable event that threatens important expectancies of stakeholders
related to health, safety, environmental, and economic issues, and can seriously impact an organization’s
performance and generate negative outcomes.
STAKEHOLDERS;
Stakeholders in a crisis can be defined as individuals, groups, communities or organizations, who may affect, be
affected by or perceive themselves to be affected by the crisis.
For example: opening a new restaurant
- What food
- Suppliers
- Trash
- Alles wat erbij komt kijken en mensen waarvan je hulp nodig hebt.
WHY STAKEHOLDERS?
- Interest around stakeholders comes from stakeholder theory, an economic theory that posits that
organization are embedded in a series of relationships with other organizations, communities, and
institutions such as governments.
o According to this theory, the goal of an organization should be the mediation of everyone’s
interests (and not just making a profit)
o “an organization’s” success is dependent on how well it manages the relationships with key
groups such as customers, employees, suppliers, communities, financiers and others that can
affect the realization of its purpose.
STAKEHOLDER CLASSIFICATION: WHY AND HOW?
- Organizations as networks
o Most organizations, no matter if NGO or commercial, are involved in a number of
relationships that include people inside and outside of the organization
o When thinking of how to respond to a crisis, organizations should understand:
Which stakeholders are affected
How seriously they are affected
, What are the consequences of the stakeholders being affected.
o This requires a classification
STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT:
- At the center of establishing and maintaining relationships with stakeholders is communication.
Organizations should:
o Be aware of whom to relate to in case of a crisis
o Involve stakeholders in pre-crisis preparedness, for crises that can be prevented
o Establish appropriate communication channels for each stakeholders
FOUR PHASES OF STAKEHOLDER MANAGEMENT
Step 1: identify stakeholders
Step 2: analyze stakeholders
Step 3: plan stakeholder communication
Step 4: engage stakeholders
TWO FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS
1. How to define and identify stakeholders?
2. How to manage the relationship with various stakeholder groups?
PRIMARY VS SECONDARY STAKEHOLDERS
- Primary stakeholders: those who are directly, significantly or potentially affected by the activities of
the organization (employees, customers, suppliers). This can also mean those who are directly,
significantly and potentially by a crisis.
, - Secondary stakeholders: Those indirectly affected or for whom the impact is not that direct, such as
the media, special interest groups and authorities restaurant, the press is secondary stakeholder.
They are going to talk about but they are not immediate afftected.
INTERNAL VS EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS
- Internal stakeholders: directly affected and take part in the organization’s decision making and
operations. Managers, owners, employees.
- External stakeholders: not involved in the organization’s operations. Customers, suppliers, authorities.
ORGANIZATIONAL LINKAGE
Normative stakeholders
Those the organization has a common interest with, shares similar problems or values. For example,
universities and middle schools might be each other’s normative stakeholders
Diffusive stakeholders
Stakeholders who are not involved in a company and only appear in the context of a crisis (the media,
or activists)
Functional stakeholders
Stakeholders who are essential for the management of the crisis. (depending on the crisis) public
security, police, ambulances.
Enabling stakeholders
Stakeholders who have the authority to define the parameters of a company’s crisis management,
regulators, governments
MATRIX MODEL
