Knowing Your Audience Communication and Paper Release

Kimberly Vaughn

BCOMM/278

June 10, 2014
Joel Maier

Knowing you audience

In today’s society a crisis can present itself at any given time. Unfortunately, today Monday June 9, 2014 at approximately 4:15pm the Pixar Amusement Park suffered a huge tragedy. The Minions rollercoaster collapsed. One employee being pronounced dead on the scene also two adults and one child were injured and in semi critical condition. Since a crisis can arise at any time it’s best to be prepared on how to address the situation, the media, patrons, shareholders, employee’s and families affected by a crisis. According to Businessdictionary.com a crisis is defined as a critical event or point of decision which, if not handled in an appropriate and timely manner (or if not handled at all), may turn into a disaster or catastrophe. My name is Kimberly Vaughn and I am a crisis manager at Vaughn and associates. My job is to create a plan of action on how Pixar Amusement Park can overcome this tragic loss suffered. I will assess the crisis and propose a plan of action on how to address the audience and provide the best solutions and feedback possible; to relieve the company and comfort the public that the amusement park is safe for children and families to patronize. During this time I will draft two communications for the CEO and the president of the company to release on Pixar and its affiliates behave. First I have identified our target audience as patrons past present and future, victims, their families, shareholders and employees. Since our target market is mainly composed of children and families we need to provide an approach where we acknowledge some sort of responsibility for the incident. The CEO of the company needs to release a statement to the media and the public making it clear that this incident is under investigation and that it is first priority to find out what caused this and make sure that something of this magnitude never takes place again. This statement should show empathy, sympathy, compassion and willingness to help and assurance that the situation is under control and that the incident is being investigated to find what was the cause of the roller coaster to collapse. We need to reassure the audience that we are a safe amusement park and that we take extra precautions to ensure the safety off all its patrons. Next, I will set up an official press conference; the reason for this conference is to provide answers to the media. This press conference should be available via television, radio, podcast and the internet. Also, we need to provide reassurance that the park is safe and everything being done to assure the safety of the patrons and Pixars employees. During this time the CEO should also discuss safety inspections and reports. How often safety inspections occur and the results of the last safety inspection for the Minions rollercoaster.
Then, a memo should be released throughout the company to address questions and concerns. At this time safety protocol should be gone over as a refresher course on what to do in a case of emergency. All managers should be prepped and ready to answer all concerns from employees. Sensitivity should be used at all times. The co-workers that were close to the victim need to be notified immediately.
“ Everyone who was close to your employee in the office deserves to hear the news personally, and from you. If any of your employee's compatriots are out of the office, make arrangements to speak with them personally as soon as possible after they return.” (Juiner 2008) Grief counselors should be available to counsel employees on site and provide grief counseling to all employees who feel it is necessary and extreme compassion must be expressed at all times. Finally from an ethical standpoint there are a few consideration that we must be considerate of which include being respectful to the listeners point of view, refusing to manipulate information to advance personal cause and maintaining company integrity by being honest and trust worthy. We have to be mindful that the media will have opinions about the incident and we have to be respectful of their opinions and respond respectfully and accordingly. We need to be as honest as possible about the incident and not cover up any wrong doing performed by the equipment or the company. If we follow this plan of action I feel that we can restore the company’s reputation and its ability to survive.

References
Crisis. (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/crisis.html
Junier, J. (n.d). Death of an employee. Retrieved from http://www.insidebusiness360.com/index.php/death-of-an-employee-22525/ Good Evening, It is with great regret to inform you of a tragic loss suffered today at the Pixar Amusement Park. One of our rollercoasters the Minion collapsed today June 9, 2014 at approximately 4:15 p.m. The accident resulted in the death of one of Pixars beloved employees Mr. Phillip Willcox. Also 2 adults and one child was also injured and is listed in semi critical condition. We would like to send our deepest condolence to Mr. Wilcox’s family and the family of the victims injured. We are currently investigating the accident to see what caused this tragedy. We at Pixar Amusement park are taking all measure to ensure that a tragedy like this never happens again. Thank you for your support in this matter.

This communication is for the public and should be relayed on a public forum like television or radio.

Dear Staff, It is with great regret to inform you of the loss of one of our beloved employee’s Mr. Phillip Wilcox. Phillip was involved in an accident today at the park when the rollercoaster the Minion collapsed. 3 other were also injured and are listed in semi critical condition. As a result of this loss we have grief counselors working for the next few days to counsel any employees that may need it. We would like to take the time to thank you for your hard work and dedication and would like you to know that we are here to support you in your time of need. The company will be covering all cost for funeral arrangements and will keep you posted on the location of the funeral. If you would like to contribute on flower arrangement please contact Joel Maier. Again thank you for your support.

This communication is for internal employees and should be made face to face in a meeting

safety of all of our patrons, employees and affiliates. At this time we will not be answering any questions until we have further information regarding the cause of the incident and are working diligently to ensure that this never happens again. Thank you for your support during this matter.