...Crisis Management Communication Plan HCS/350 11 Nov 2013 Crisis Management Crises are events that have the ability to threaten the viability of the organizations within which they occur. Crises are extraordinary events with great potential to do harm to people, businesses, and organizations. Crisis management consists of three distinct phases: crisis prevention, crisis response, and recovery from the crisis. This paper will focus on the communication that is used during the management of a crisis. It will briefly describe how communication dynamics differ in times of crises, ways to reduce stress during a crisis, and ways to resolve communication challenges. Communication Dynamics Communication dynamics may differ during times of crisis, mass trauma, or disaster simply because of the stress levels that are associated with them and the staff members that are affected during the situation as well. Resolution of communication problems requires creativity (Pearson & Sommer, 2011). The more creative the staff is, the quicker they can resolve the issue at hand and communicate more effectively. If a staff member who is normally quiet and well-mannered becomes loud, irritable, and aggressive during a crisis this can disrupt the entire team. If there is more than one staff member who has a personality or demeanor that changes during a crisis it will create chaos in the department. The department manager needs to know of these possible changes and have a way to circumvent...
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...Communication and Crisis Janelle Ovunda HCS/320 January 28, 2013 Kimberly Foster Introduction Being the director of a regional Emergency Management Office during a crisis I will have to have control. Without control the crisis will turn into a catastrophe. With an effective contingency plan in place this will help me to stay in control of the situation. I will also have alternate plans put in place just in case my key plans do not happen as expected. It will take everyone involved inside and outside of the Emergency Management Office working together to make sure the crisis is worked through and that the public remains calm. Individuals or Groups That Will Be Communicating Inside and Outside the Organization during the Crisis Anyone who communicates inside and outside the organization should be key to the crisis. There should be one person assigned to each role in my crisis communication team. In a large crisis there might be a need to go outside of my main office for support from volunteers or a nearby college [ (Services, 2006) ]. The people inside the communication team will consist of the public information officer, content and messages coordinator, media coordinator, direct public outreach coordinator, partner coordinator, and the rumor control coordinator. Each one on these will have a role to follow. The public information officer will activate the risk communication plan and direct the work related to the release of information [ (Services, 2006)...
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...Crisis Management Plan Jessica Fullerton University of Phoenix Healthcare Communication HCS 350 Professor Ricki-Beth Horowitz Crisis Management Plan In this paper, I will describe a crisis management communication plan for a hospital, which I am familiar with as I work at a hospital. First there will be a discussion about how communication may be effected during a crisis or disaster. Then I will describe three ways to manage stress while in a situation like this. Lastly, I will walk through three ways to resolve potential challenges in communication, caused by tumultuous situations as described. Crises can be defined as: a natural disaster, such as earthquakes or hurricanes; an attack, any sort of improvised device causing casualties; or even chemical warfare. There are many variations of crises defined in, The Essentials of Public Health Preparedness (Katz, 2013). In a hospital during a crisis, we are expecting to see an influx in patients, sometimes overwhelming amounts, during times of crisis it is important to maintain effective communication. Hospitals are in constant communication with regional medical authorities; these systems help alert a broader network to the needs of the community at large. On a smaller scale the Hospital Emergency departments are in communication over radio with local police and fire departments, this communication is critical for the hospital to function properly. Allowing the hospital to know when critical patients are entering the...
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...Crisis Management Communication Plan General communication is significant in terms of any disasters strike. In healthcare setting, when at the time of acute or prolong of crisis, mass trauma or disaster, communication is very crucial. More often, during the times of major disasters on which communication will impair are due to lack of preparation and training. In addition, failure to communicate systematically will result with chaos arising. Yet, due to the fear of the unknown, stress is increasing among healthcare staff , patients and family. To effectively control the chaotic situation, all healthcare facilities should create a frameworks to create strong leadership teams to guide the employees, and exercise about the knowledge, skills and abilities of communication in response to different type of crisis. Communication Types of Crises "Crisis is a stage of an individual who experienced from an unexpected thread, loss self controlled, or dealing with terminal illness"( Arnold.E.C., 2011). When caring patients who experienced mental illness. To achieve communication effectively, health care teams must clearly understand the different type of crisis and the caused that affecting patient's well being, Foremost, the successful of communication during crisis depend on the coping mechanism of an individual. There are many different kinds of crisis; situational crises, adventitious crisis which included mass trauma and nature disasters. A situational crises...
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...Communication to Manage Crisis HCS/320 Communication to Manage Crisis Those who work in hospitals have to face crisis. It may happen in the emergency room or even in the manager’s office. Hospital employees need to be ready for such events. Coombs 1999 states that no organization can guarantee that they will not have any crisis. According to Reynolds 2006, crisis may occur internally or externally for the organization but when it occurs people’s lives may be at stake and at the same time the reputation of the company may get jeopardized. During crisis communication as well as improper communication can play a great role. For lack of communication right things may not be done and crisis may occur. Even a rumor may spread and crisis may happen. Communication methods to be adopted during a crisis have been talked about a lot but defining crisis is not so easy. According to Heath 2006, before defining the crisis, the risks need to be identified. According to him a risk may have both negative and positive influences of different levels. If anything happens to people, communication with them can tell us a lot and it can be understood whether crisis can be overcome. Whether reputation can be left intact needs to be understood. I am acting as the director of the Regional Emergency Office and I got reports about the public water that had been infected with something fatal. The pollutant is a biological element that has life threatening effect. We know that biological agents...
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...Crisis Management Plan for DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa, Alabama Alishia Keef Healthcare Communication/HCS 350 April 13, 2015 Diane Rodriguez Time is short, and decisions must be made quickly in a crisis or disaster. Communication systems are often the first recovery area disabled during a crisis. For example, if a Category 5 tornado hit DCH Regional Medical Center, it would experience major disruption because it sits directly in the center of downtown Tuscaloosa, which is a major university city in Alabama. This situation was seen during the April 27, 2011 tornado in Tuscaloosa with many nurses and doctors even being stranded at their assigned posts. The landline phones and cell phone towers were inoperable when the power systems went down. The hospital would also experience added stress due to injured residents flocking to receive emergency treatment. Because physician orders are faxed to the pharmacy and outside specialists, the entire system would have severe delays in care delivery. It would also be difficult to call extra staff in because travel into the area and out of the area was impossible due to roads being covered with debris. As a result, the burden was they may also be injured at home or without telecommunication equipment. All communications would have to be face-to-face in person. This interpersonal contact has become so rare during our technological age that employees could be expected to experience very high levels of stress. During the immediate...
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...Communication is an act of conveying information from several forms of exchange, such as, speech, message, visuals, writing, signals, and behavior. This form of exchange can be between two or more individuals. When communicating with someone there are several important steps to take when you are needing to succeed in a task. Such as a disaster or a form of a crisis, proper communication is critical in the situation. Once a crisis arise in your community pertaining contaminated water there are vital steps to take to address within your organization and out side of the organization. Working in a regional emergency management office having a plan before anything happens is essential in the work place. By anticipating the crisis will prepare you for a possible situation and place you ahead of miscommunication. Once the crisis does arise there are steps to proceed with. These steps will assist with active and effective communication to inform and give instructions. In this situation a step to take within and outside of your organization is to identify your crisis communication team. The team should consist of the CEO, Vice President, safety officer, organization lawyer and chief of public communication of the organization. The senior manager of the division in charge of the involved area should be included also. The individuals assigned to this team should be able to identify as to what actions should be taken and be key to the situation. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control...
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...Communication and Crisis HCS/320 02/02/2015 Communication and Crisis In today’s health care crisis, essential communication is the key to establishing a solution for every healthcare organization. As a director of a regional emergency management office, I received official reports that the public water supplies of several towns in the area have become contaminated. When something comes up, that is very urgent and very important such as a life-threatening biological agent; the organization is facing an event defined as a health crisis. According to Issues and Crisis Communications Management : “Crisis - Any immediate situation that causes deviation from regular operating practices and has the ability to impact your organization's corporate reputation or value” . Health care crisis used to be handled in the past by a limited communication system such as television and radio. Those days, the newer communication technologies such as internet and media are more involved to inform the public about the latest news minute by minute. To control the crisis, the organization has a crisis plan to help hold the situation and contain the spread of the crisis. A well-conceived crisis communication plan will guide our emergency management office and its team from different departments such as communication office confidently through immediate and near-term steps and outline actions. Communication inside and outside the organization during a crisis is essential. A group...
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...Crisis Management Communication Plan Communication is a very important aspect in the health care setting. During major crisis communication lines may be affected by mechanical failures, downed phone lines, or electrical shortages. The crisis will also affect family members, staff members, and even media outside the hospital. In times of crisis everyone has to think critically about completing tasks and making quick decisions so that the most effective solution and safety is accomplished. In all health care organization there are policies and procedures on what to do during mass trauma, disaster or fire crisis that is implemented for the safety of all employees and patients. The plan for crisis communication would be to prepare and document internal and external emergencies through the organization. Although the plan cannot prepare us for every situation, the policies, procedures, and benefits of the health care facility can help contain the situation, prevent injury, death, and helps provide health and medical resources to patients During major disaster lines of communication systems may become disrupted. Wireless telephone networks, radio, television broadcast, satellite, and internet may be interrupted. This could add stressors during emergencies because it would prevent effective communication from being transferred. Communication dynamics can cause stress which in turn can affect everyone physically, emotionally, psychological. This can impact communication when...
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...Crisis Management Communication Plan There are unquestionably infinite configurations of crisis situations to be prepared for, real or imagined. Unsurprisingly, the surge of zombies in mainstream society has granted credibility to an idea that a zombie apocalypse might manifest. The proliferation associated with this unique theory has encouraged scores of citizens to contemplate, “How do I ready for a zombie apocalypse?” Even though zombies are hype, they effortlessly link within our imagination of disaster and emergency preparedness as seen in the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention advertising maneuver in 2011. The agency trusted it to be an excellent stimulus to get the public to pull together for an emergency. One must be prepared for terrorist/zombie attacks, natural disasters or pandemics. This paper will target the communication plan employed in a health care organization during a crisis management. Moreover, it will include how communication dynamics differ in times of disaster, three solutions to reduce stress during a crisis and three approaches to resolve potential communication challenges. Disasters are the ultimate test of emergency response capability (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). A health care organization needs a crisis communications plan to successfully handle unexpected and unstable conditions of extreme danger. No matter what the role is, nurse, physician, emergency preparedness coordinator or facilities manager — everyone...
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...ISSN: 2278-3369 International Journal of Advances in Management and Economics Available online at www.managementjournal.info CASE STUDY Crisis communication failures: The BP Case Study Daniel De Wolf1, Mohamed Mejri2* 1University 2Ecole of Littoral Côte d’Opale (ULCO)/Management & Economics, Dunkerque, France. Superieure de Commerce/Management Department, University of Manuba, Tunis, Tunisia. *Corresponding author: Email: mohamed.mejri@univ-littoral.fr Abstract On the 20th of April 2010, an outstanding explosion of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig situated in the Golf of Mexico caused the largest maritime disaster oil spill in the USA history and particularly caused considerable reputation and financial losses to BP.To deal with the spill oil as well as reputation and financial losses, the company particularly use many tactics and tools to communicate with stakeholders during and after the crisis. However, crisis management and communication experts’ opinions differed on whether BP crisis communication was effective or ineffective.This paper aims to assess BP crisis communication and mainly to point out possible failures through a content analysis of secondary data collected from various sources (newspapers, magazines, annual reports and blogs). Keywords: British Petroleum, Crisis communication, Crisis Management, Deepwater horizon. Introduction On the 20th of April 2010, the petroleum industry has been marked by the largest maritime disaster oil spill...
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...Crisis Management Communication Plan HCS 350 May 19, 2014 Kristina Alums Crisis Management Communication Plan Crisis is a time of intense difficulty, trouble or danger. Trauma is a deeply distressing or disturbing experience and a disaster is a sudden event that causes a great deal of damage or loss of life. Any of these circumstances can happen to an individual, a group of people, to a business, an organization, or a community without any notice. Crisis management is an essential process that organizations adopt to deal with a sudden emergency situation and it should include a crisis management plan. It is a basic guide to provide a response system to a major crisis, trauma, or disaster that is occurring. Anyone that experiences a disaster, trauma, or crisis is affected by it in some way or fashion and having a well planned communication strategy has the potential to lessen the impact of stress while being able to deliver accurate and timely information within the organization and to the public (U.S. Dept. of Health, 2012). Having a clear understanding of roles and procedures is also critical to help individuals manage stress. Communication During a of crisis, trauma, or disaster time is short, decisions are urgent, information is typically limited, and the opportunities for the interaction we require are constrained which can cause communication to be challenging. Pressure is also greater during a crisis. Ineffective communication has proven to be a major contributor...
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...ACME Furniture Crisis Management Plan 2013 NB – A crisis management template has been used in creating this plan. The template is available from http://www.brighthubpm.com/risk-management/104970-tips-and-template-for-developing-a-crisis-management-plan/ Table of Contents I. Purpose: 4 Principals for crisis management 4 II. Process: 5 III. Communication Responses Protocol (List of Emergency Contacts): 6 iii – (a) Key personnel, Legal Counsels and Advisors 6 iii – (b) Crisis Management Team 6 iii – (c) communications team 6 IV. Roles and Responsibilities 7 iv – (a) Crisis Management Team 7 iv – (b) Communications team 7 V. Critical Scenarios/Incidents of Medical Emergencies/ Attacks against ACME Furniture’s Integrity & Reputation 10 v – (a) CRITICAL SCENARIOS: 10 v – (b) Incidents of Medical Emergencies: 10 v – (c) Attacks against ACME Furniture’s Integrity & Reputation: 10 VI. Emergency Response Centre 11 VII. Employees 12 VII – (a) Office 12 VII – (b) Retail Outlet 12 VII – (c) Factory 12 VII – (d) Warehouse 12 VIII. References 13 I. Purpose: This document provides a plan of action in the event of any business disruptions or interruptions that pose threats of damages to life, property or reputation to ACME Furniture. This document contains plans for setting up and running a crisis management centre, media responses and roles responsibilities, key contacts and personnel of ACME Furniture. This document...
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... Another crisis that I encounter was a fire on my floor a few years ago. An electrical fire was started in a patient‘s room at the light above the patient’s head, next to the oxygen. It happens so fast, once the fire was discovered; nurses wheeled the patients out as quickly as possible using the plan of evacuation for a fire. Removing all patients within the next two rooms, Along with evacuation of the entire floor. The nurse manager automatically ran for the fire extinguisher to demolish the fire. Unlike a regular routine of moving patients, any man power available was used. A specific person with medical expertise was assign to care for the patients, continuing medical treatment with normalcy. When there is a crisis in a healthcare setting the normal plan of care changes. Order of operation is put on hold temporarily Crisis Management plan In times of crisis a person or an organization has to think critically about the tasks for completion, making quick or planned decision into action so that the most effective solution and safety is accomplished. In a health care organization there are policies and procedures on plan of care during crisis in a mass trauma, a disaster, or a fire. Crisis communication dynamics differ from the normal routine with the emphasis on possessing; the ability to receive and communicate information swiftly, delegation is needed to avoid chaos and unwanted circumstances. Crisis management is set in...
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...Domino’s Pizza’s Crisis Communication Strategies Domino’s Pizza was embroiled in a viral crisis situation when two rogue employees posted videos of adulterated food on YouTube in April 2009. Tim McIntyre, Vice President of Communications, was part of the internal team that delivered the company’s crisis communication plan through Twitter and YouTube. What makes this story so compelling is the social media aspect of both the crisis itself and the strategy for managing the crisis. The interesting challenge was Domino’s decision to integrate the same medium that sparked the crisis into the strategies to manage the situation, and the efficacy of best practices and principles of crisis management in the age of social media. Overview and Background The way in which companies communicate with stakeholders during a crisis event is rapidly changing with the 24-hour access provided by the Internet, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Public relations practitioners and other communication executives are struggling to craft messages and maintain control of the flow of messages within this dynamic landscape. As Schiller explains, in “times of crisis, while corporate communication executives are preparing manicured statements, customers are [simultaneously] blogging, e-mailing and posting photos out of rage and desperation because the very people who should be listening to them aren’t” .. Bell asserts that stakeholders become “interpretive communities in organizational crisis contexts,” capable...
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