©2022, L.

Benoit, All rights reserved Laurent Benoit

Crisis Management Cycle

A phased approach to threat annihilation
Key publics

Laurent Benoit
Professor
1

Rapid Review

Monitoring to prevent crises

(1) identify the sources to scan
(2) collect the information
(3) analyze the information
(4) take preventative action if warranted
(5) evaluate threat reduction effectiveness.

Major Threats
• Monitor the threat
• Identify corrective measures, actions that
eliminate or reduce the threat
• Implement
• Evaluate effectiveness of threat reduction

Crisis Communication 1
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Threat Assessment
• Risk: Probability X Impact (OI + SI)
• Issue: Likelyhood X Impact (OI + SI)
– Momentum, Cyclical nature
• Reputational threats
– Legitimacy, Power, Willingness of attackers
– Closing an expectation gap: influence stakeholders
perception through crisis communication
– Minor threats may be ignored
• Determine appropriate action
– Speed – Acuracy – Transparency
– Respect Social Media etiquette

Crisis Management
• Organizational function to combat
threats and avoid or lessen impacts
of damage.
• Crisis management acts as a hedge
against the negative outcomes.
• Integrated into normal operations.
• An ongoing process.

Crisis Management
• Organizations know the majority of
the threats that arise.
• Crisis management monitors those
threats, and unknown threats.
• A system to anticipate how the
threats evolve and implement
preventative measures.

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S5 – Crisis Management Cycle

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Crisis Management Cycle - Pursiainen

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Crisis Management Process

Reading
1. - Yaxley
Crisis preparedness Prevention: steps taken to avoid crises.
a. planning processes systems • Monitoring of internal and external environments
What can go wrong?
b. manuals training • Threat elimination or reduction
c. simulations.
2. Crisis prevention Preparedness: crisis management plan (CMP).
How likely
a. Early is that to happen?
warning Diagnosing crisis vulnerabilities
b. scanning issues and risk management • Selecting and training a crisis management team
c. emergency responses.
What are the consequences if it does happen?
3. Crisis management
• Creating a crisis portfolio
a. Crisis recognition system • Crisis communication plan and system
b. activation/response Response: Deployment of Crisis Team
How to prepare
c. crisis [Link] every likely eventuality.
Have a team
4. Post-crisis ready
management for deployment
recovery Recovery: Return to new normal
a. Business resumption
b. post-crisis issue impacts Learning: evaluation of the organization’s response in
c. evaluation, modification. simulated and real crises.
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Crisis Communication 3
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Crisis Management Cycle - Pursiainen

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FEARN-BANKS, K. (2011), Crisis Communication – A Casebook Approach, Routledge, NY.

Fearn-Banks Crisis Management Stages

• Detection
– Warning signs (intelligence systems)
• Prevention / Preparation
– Whistle blowers / Operational Reviews / Corrective Measures
– CMP / Training /
• Containment
– Reduce impact / Limit Duration
– People / Infrastructure / Reputation
• Recovery
– Restaure Normalcy
– Restaure Relationships, Reputation
• Learning
– Evaluate losses, gains, performance
– Prevent reoccurence

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Crisis Occurs
Alert
Monitoring Inflexion
Preventative measures attempt
Alert Systems
Diagnostic
Detection
tools Crisis Mobilize
response
Integration Management
Response
Capacity * Cycle Respond

Learning Collaborate
Evaluation of
response Resolution
Reconstruction
Coombs, 2015

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Crisis Communication 4
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Preparedness – Knowledge and Skills

• Crisis Management Planning
• Identify priority scenarios
• Develop plans for each scenario

• Crisis Team Expertise

• Select Crisis Team for priority scenarios
• Develop and test simulations
• Train Crisis Team Members

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Preparedness – Readiness
• Capacity-building
• Skills and knowledge
• Crisis Team (S6)
• Monetary resources
• Infrastructure and equipment
• Agreements and pre-arrangements
with external actors

• Early warning system

• Nature, location, timing and
magnitude of threats

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Crisis Management

What types of
threats can arise?

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Crisis Communication 5
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Reputation
management

Crisis

Issue Risk
Management Management

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Questions ?
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Readings Key excerpts

• Diers-Lawson, A. (2019). Crisis
Communication: Managing Stakeholder
Relationships (1st ed.). Routledge.

[Link]

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Stakeholders mapping

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Stakeholders research and analysis

Power : can exert direct imposition of its will on the
organization

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Stakeholders research and analysis

Legitimacy: stakeholders have a valid claim, positive
interest in the organization, its actions, and/or its
advocacy. They have similar interests.

Note: Legitimacy of stakeholders is a different concept than that of the legitimacy of a social
media attackers’ claim, which refers to the validity of the claim.

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Stakeholders research and analysis

Strategic stakeholders have a legitimacy and power

Desirable stakeholders have legitimate interests in

the business, but lack direct power over the
organization.

Moral stakeholders do not explicitly have a

relationship with the organization.

Dangerous stakeholders have power and their

interests in the organization is not defined as
‘legitimate’ by the organization.

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Toolbox 5 – Audience prioritization

Step 1 – Audience Identification
Produce a generic list for each scenario

Step 2 – Audience Verification

Double-check generic list against key
investigative questions to ensure no one is
forgotten.

Step 3 – Audience Priorization

Establish clear priorities to guide CMT actions
during crisis response.

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Questions ?
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Crisis Communication 8