Free Essay

Crisis Management

In:

Submitted By mostthirdcoast
Words 1962
Pages 8
Andrew
Walden
Crisis Management
Professor Clark Bailey

Planning for a Crisis

Having a crisis management plan is invaluable when a crisis actually occurs. Whether it be a crisis at home or at work, if you are not prepared with some sort of plan of action, the results could be far worse than the crisis itself. Knowing that crises are inevitable is also a valuable thought. Prevention, communication, leadership and legalistic are all key element that make up a good crisis managemnt plan. I will be discussing many possible crisis that could occur at my home or workplace. When I began analyzing my household in order to determine the possible crises that could occur at my home I realized that my family and I are very ill prepared. As I began trying to compile a list of possible crises I realized that the possibilities were basically endless, so I decided to focus on the most probable crises that may occur. The major crises I came up with are: A house fire, a home invasion, a gas leak, or a chemical leak from a nearby chemical plant. First I will go over my crisis management plan for a fire. As far as prevention is concerned, I would make sure that all of the smoke detectors had batters and were in working condition. Next I would make sure that there were at least two fire extinguishers that are accessible and in working condition. I would also have at least two escape plans. Plan B would be an escape route if someone was trapped upstairs, and plan A would be one used if we could make it downstairs. I live with my younger brother and sister, as well as my parents, so if a fire were to occur communication would be key. Depending on who discovered the fire first it would be very important to notify whoever was upstairs to avoid getting stuck on the second floor. If someone were to get trapped on the second floor they would need to follow escape route B and make their way to my sisters bedroom window that has a long shingled area that is extends close enough to the ground to jump from. If my sisters room was not accessible due to the fire, whoever was stuck upstairs would need to make their way to my room where there is a similar slightly higher shingled area outside of the window. If everyone could make it downstairs they should follow escape plan A. This route would have us go out the front door first, if that is not possible we would escape through the back door or one of the big living room windows. Either my Dad or I would assume the role of the leader in this situation. The leader would need to make sure that they alert everyone about the fire, as well as make sure they go follow the most appropriate escape route to safety. The leader would also be responsible for trying to put out the fire if possible. Responsibility and communication are also very important when it comes to a crisis management plan. In the event of a fire each person would be responsible for grabbing a few important items or keepsakes. My dad or I would be responsible for grabbing our dog Alamo. It would also be very important for everyone to communicate with each other in order to make sure that no one is hurt or stuck somewhere. As soon as everyone makes it out of the house I would take a head count. Next I would call 911 if I had time to grab my cell phone. It would also be necessary to alert the surrounding neighbors in case the fire spreads. In the event of a gas leak my escape plan would be very similar to my fire escape plan for exiting the house downstairs. As far as prevention is concerned I would make sure everyone in the family is able to recognize the smell of gas. Next my plan would require whoever detected the gas first to notify the rest of the family in the house, and then call 911 as soon as possible. The next crisis I will be examining will be a home invasion. There are many things I could do in order to prevent or deture a home invasion. Fist of all I would install an alarm system that alerts the authorities if a door or window is opened after it had been set. I would also make a point to keep the doors locked when possible during the day and check to make sure all of the doors and windows are locked before going to bed. Next I would place some sort of home defense tool such as a baseball bat or golf club in an easily accessible spot . I would consider purchasing a firearm, but would most likely not. I feel that introducing a gun into stressful situations such as home invasion makes dramatically increases the chances of someone getting seriously hurt. Finally I would talk with my family about the possibility of a home invasion and discuss how they should deal with the situation. If someone were to break in my crisis management plan would have my family members to hide if possible and call 911. If hiding was not an option I would instruct them to comply with anything the intruder asked. Compliance would definitely be the best way to handle the situation and would hopefully prevent the situation from escalating. My plan would also require me to make as many mental notes about the intruders appearance as possible in order to help the police track them down. There are many possible crises that I could encounter while at work. I work in sales and setup at a software company in Pearland and can think of plenty of major and minor crises that may happen. My company hosts many servers for online employee management software for about 1500 companies around the world. The Fist major crisis that I could think of at work would be a server failure. Some other possible crises that could happen at my work place include, an active shooter situation, a fire. If we were to experience a server failure hundreds of websites would crash, employees would not be able to clock in or out, and very valuable company information could be lost. About a month into my sales job we almost experienced a server failure when two of our severs reached a critical level. If our severs did crash my crisis management plan would first call for our developers to begib backing up all of the information in the cash reserves for all of the websites. Communicating the severity of the crash t our developers would be critical. They would need to know which servers and what companies websites were most effected. Next it would be best to designate someone to be in charge of tracking the developers progress and reporting it back to the sales team. The sales team would then need to contact the companies with websites that were down and inform them of that we were experiencing technical difficulties and that their websites will be back up as soon as possible. It is critical that we do not inform the companies of the severity of the situation unless we absolutely have to. When working with websites there are constantly problems, some large and some small. Most can be fixed without effecting the user capability of the websites. Most people have no idea about the constant behind the scenes struggle that keeps websites up and running so when they crash people tend to get upset, especially if the crash could negatively effect business. My crisis management plan would put customer service and reassuring the effected business that their websites will be up and running as a top priority. Once the developers have backed up all of the cashed data possible, My plan would have every available employee working to rebuild the servers that had crashed. Each employee is first taught how to build servers when they start working as a preventative measure for just this type of situation. Once the servers were rebuilt, I would compile a list of all of the companies that were effected by the crash, divide it up between the sales team, and have them call to inform them that their websites are back up. In order to make up for any inconvenience that the crash may have caused, I would allow our sales team to give each company a level three add on of their choice free of charge. This gesture would hopefully smooth over any frustration our customers may be feeling. The next possible crisis I will be using is the event of an active shooter situation. It is unlikely that I would experience an active shooter situation like at my lace of work, but it does happen and it is always better to be prepared. As far as prevention is concerned, It would be beneficial to have a some sort of screening or check in process for people entering the building. This could prevent or at least delay someone who wanted to cause any sort of trouble. Next, bolt locks on most doors and key card entree locks for certain areas of the building would also go along way when trying to prevent an active shooter situation. My plan would also include briefing all employees on emergency exit locations and securable areas. My plan A for an active shooter situation would be to find a secure area and stay there until authorities arrive. If hiding and waiting it out is not possible, I would try and get out of the building as quickly and safely as possible. If I were to follow plan A, I would warn everyone in close proximity first, then direct everyone to the closest safest location. I would look for a room or office that had a heavy door and a strong lock. Most of the offices in our office have key card entree locks and have solid wood doors, so that is most likely where I would head. Once inside the office it would be crucial for someone to step up and take on the role as leader. This leader would need to calm everyone down as best as possible. In an active shooter situation the last thing you want is to draw attention to yourself. It would also be critical to turn the light off as soon as possible and take cover in the corner of the room farthest from the door. The next step in my plan would focus on communication. First I would call 911 and give all of the information I could to the authorities. Next I would try and call other people in the building in order to warn them about the situation and tell them to hide in a secure location as soon as possible. Our office phones are all linked together by extensions, so I would call the rooms where there would likely be the most people. I would also make sure made sure whoever I could get a hold of was not the shooter himself, and be sure not to give away any information about my location. Finally I would look try and find anything in the office that could be used as a weapon in case the shooter was able to get into the room somehow. After I had searched the office for a weapon, there would really be nothing more to but stay quiet and wait for help. Once help had arrived I would make the officer or whoever was trying to help us prove they were who they say they are.

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Crisis Management

...Definition of Crisis Management Crisis is inevitable and the planning and execution to bring under control such an event that has been developed through complicated processes that causes damages and potentially affects an entire organization is called Crisis Management (Vassilikopoulou, Lepetsos, Siomkos, & Chatzipanagiotou, 2009, pp. 65-66). Crisis Management in Relation to Business Vassilikopoulou et al. (2009) stated, “Crisis are events that are difficult for a company to avoid” (p.66). Vassilikopoulou et al. further stated “the types of crisis are numerous from ‘small-scale organizational issues’ to a grave crisis." Several studies prove that when a company neglects a crisis it will eventually hurt the brand and the image. The following two citations will prove this “The immediate expense of product replacement and consumer compensation may pale in comparison with the loss of consumer trust and damage to brand evaluations” (Lei, Dawar, & Gürhan-Canli, 2012, p. 336). “A poorly managed marketing crisis can quickly destroy the affected brand’s equity, which might have been nurtured over many years” (Zhao. Y., Zhao, Y., & Helsen , K., 2011). Managing Crisis Management should minimize negative consequences (Vassilikopoulou et al., p.69). Vassilikopoulou et al. described “companies involved in a crisis are more likely to be held responsible for the defective product if they have a poor reputation” (as cited in Siomkos, 1999). Thus, a good reputation could also play a protective...

Words: 1188 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Crisis Management

...Crisis Management Word Count: 2635 Renault Clio Recall – March 2007 The 1990’s saw the birth of a new supermini car which Renault believed could change the motoring industry and the way we travelled, Renault where right. The Clio to date is one of Europe’s best selling cars in history and is the only car to be voted ‘European Car of the Year’ twice. Renault where growing from strength to strength, it seemed like nothing could get in their way of taking reign of the motoring industry. Its global force and power was incredible, being one of the top car makers in Western Europe. Renault was moving into Asia and North America, with their advertising expenditure reaching over six hundred million, making Renault ranked 34# in the worlds advertising chart. Renaults adverts had links with: The Simpsons, Thierry Henry and The Muppets, these just a number of clients that have worked with Renault. Thousands of Renault Clio’s where recalled for safety checks after a number accidents had occurred all relating to the same problem, the bonnet. More than often cars travelling down the motorway, travelling around 70 mph would be in for a shock as their car bonnet would blow open shattering the windscreen. After the first case Renault said they would recall the model, Clio II, but said that they found no construction or design faults with the bonnet catch mechanism. This was just the begging of Renaults troubles. Renault was under a great deal...

Words: 2775 - Pages: 12

Free Essay

Management Crisis

...Topic-; Identify any crisis, which occurred recently in industry/organization critically analyze the ways by which it was resolved. What is management crisis?Crises can strike any company at any time. Microsoft, ValuJet, Chrysler, Pepsi and the tobacco industry are some of the most recent companies that can attest to this fact, but they are not the only ones. Crises do not discriminate based on a company’s size or notoriety, and they can hit when a company least expects them. They come in many forms – strikes, layoffs, product recalls or allegations of misconduct, but while some of these may seem small, every crisis has the potential to damage the reputation of a company. Regardless of the severity of the situation, crises pose a serious threat to companies – not only to their reputation but their fiscal health as well. When Odwalla’s apple juice was thought to be the cause of an outbreak of E. coli bacteria, the company lost a third of its market value. The same allegation against Jack in the Box restaurant in 1993 caused the hamburger chain’s stock price to fall from $14 a share to nearly $3 a share. On the other hand, some companies emerge from crises unscathed in the eyes of consumers and investors. Johnson and Johnson is one such company. After it was discovered that its Tylenol capsules had been laced with cyanide, Johnson and Johnson reacted in such an effective way that the case is now well-documented as an example of successful crisis management. The factor that...

Words: 2345 - Pages: 10

Free Essay

Crisis Management

...Crisis Management Plan HCS 350 Crisis Management Plan The meaning of a crisis circumstance is any clinical, operational or budgetary test that puts a health care association's capability to convey quality care at danger. Conceivable crisis circumstances incorporate; Bomb Threats, Life of an infant or child debilitated, Earthquake Poor administration of any of these emergency circumstances could be devastating for a healthcare association when the meaning of correspondence is not clear or agreed. Correspondence is the methodology of imparting data through our contemplations and sentiments. Correspondence happens between people by talking, written work, or body language. Correspondence needs three primary sources for it to occur, a sender, a message, and a recipient. Compelling correspondence takes place by stretching out the idea to oblige that transmitted substance is accepted and understood by a person the way it was expected. Powerful correspondence comprises of three fundamental objectives, normal discernment, evolving conducts, and getting data. As stated by answers.com with the end goal for correspondence to become powerful these three things must assume a part in making the methodology effective. Powerful correspondence starts with giving careful consideration. The sender should give careful consideration to what he or is attempting to say and picked the most ideal approach to impart. They should have the correct words and body language when...

Words: 1308 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Crisis Management Plan

...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...

Words: 876 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

A Crisis Management Communication Plan

...A Crisis Management Communication Plan One must always expect the unexpected and prepare for the unforeseen in order to live up honestly to the universal principles of health care. Beyond the standard day-to-day challenges, this necessity of preparedness is pushed to the extreme in the event of a mass causality incident (MCI). A large explosion in a crowded stadium represents the epitome of crisis management, as present emergency medical officials are immediately overwhelmed and the high number of casualties can overwhelm even the largest of hospitals—requiring adherence to a general crisis management plan. The near proximity between the explosion and the hospital, as well as the high concentration of casualties in one place, pose unique challenges that would not otherwise be present and require a higher degree of emergency communication to be effective. The Scenario On a Thursday night, the Fresno Grizzly baseball team is hosting an exhibition game with the San Francisco Giants at Chukchansi Park baseball stadium with an attendance of just over 14,000 people. During the planned post-game firework show, there is a mechanical error, causing a long series of explosions. The far section of the stadium is immediately structurally damaged and collapses, while a gas fire quickly erupts, engulfing over half of the stadium and several nearby buildings. Chaos quickly erupts in the nearby area, as crowds from the stadium and the nearby Seland Arena erratically stampede into the streets...

Words: 1071 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Effective Ethics and Crisis Management

...Artena Thompson | MNGT-5990 |  Artena Thompson | MNGT-5990 |  Over 3,000 workers polled in 2009 National Business Ethic Survey in the findings there was 49% observed ethical misconduct. The issues ranged from company resources abuse to bribes and illegal political contributions. The ethical misconducts/issues can fall within Employee Mistreatment, Customer Mistreatment, Unethical Employee Behavior, Corporate Intelligence Issues, and Accounting Practices. Employee Mistreatment can also be workplace abuse which is a behavior that causes workers emotional or physical harm. Harassment, discrimination, bullying and violence are forms of workplace abuse. These behaviors aren’t always distinguishable from one another because they frequently overlap. Harassment can be discriminatory, bullying can be a form of harassment, and any of these behaviors can lead to workplace violence. Employee Mistreatment can come from coworkers mistreating each other, managers mistreating employees, sexual mistreatment, assaults, discriminations against woman with lower wages, discriminations against minorities, and corporate bulling. In my research I found that corporate bulling happens more than one thinks and it’s a complex issue. While there are a variety of reasons why bullies choose to target other people, usually their behavior is driven by the bully’s need to control the targeted individual. These employees want to call all the shots. So they often insist on having things their way and...

Words: 1934 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

Crisis Management

...Protecting Your Jewish Institution: Security Strategies For Today’s Dangerous World Addendum - Crisis Management 127 CRISIS MANAGEMENT The Art of Crisis Management While we do not propose a formal definition of the word crisis in this manual, we treat any event that can, within a short period of time, harm your institution’s constituents, its facilities, its finances or its reputation as a crisis. Crisis management is the art of making decisions to head off or mitigate the effects of such an event, often while the event itself is unfolding. This often means making decisions about your institution’s future while you are under stress and while you lack key pieces of information. Consistent with the overall philosophy of this manual, the key to being able to manage a crisis is doing as much planning as practical before a crisis starts in order to best position you and your institution to respond to and mitigate such a situation. The Crisis Management Continuum: Introduction What is usually called “crisis management” should be best understood as part of a broad continuum of activities as follows: • Planning. Planning relates to getting your institution in the best position to react to, and recover from, an emergency. • Incident Response. Incident responses are the processes that you have put into place to ensure that your institution reacts properly and orderly to an incident as it occurs. Examples of incident response include: a. Evacuation after a called-in bomb threat...

Words: 3613 - Pages: 15

Premium Essay

Crisis Management

...Economics Seminar paper on the subject: English 4 Crisis management June, 2012 Crisis management is the process by which an organization deals with a major event that threatens to harm the organization, its stakeholders, or the general public. The study of crisis management originated with the large scale industrial and environmental disasters in the 1980. Three elements are common to most definitions of crisis: (a) a threat to the organization, (b) the element of surprise, and (c) a short decision time. Venette argues that "crisis is a process of transformation where the old system can no longer be maintained." Therefore the fourth defining quality is the need for change. If change is not needed, the event could more accurately be described as a failure or incident. In contrast to risk management, which involves assessing potential threats and finding the best ways to avoid those threats, crisis management involves dealing with threats before, during, and after they have occurred. That is, crisis management is proactive, not merely reactive. It is a discipline within the broader context of management consisting of skills and techniques required to identify, assess, understand, and cope with a serious situation, especially from the moment it first occurs to the point that recovery procedures start. Introduction Crisis management consists of: * Methods used to respond to both the...

Words: 6157 - Pages: 25

Premium Essay

Crisis Management

...CRISIS MANAGEMENT Crisis: an unstable or crucial time or state of affairs in which a decisive change is impending; especially: one with the distinct possibility of a highly undesirable outcome. Crisis management is the application of strategies designed to help an organization deal with a sudden and significant negative event that threatens to harm the organization, its stakeholders, or the general public. . A crisis can occur as a result of an unpredictable event or as an unforeseeable consequence of some event that had been considered a potential risk. In either case, crises almost invariably require that decisions be made quickly to limit damage to the organization. For that reason, one of the first actions in crisis management planning is to identify an individual to serve as crisis manager. Other crisis management best practices include: Planning in detail for responses to as many potential crises as possible. Establishing monitoring systems and practices to detect early warning signals of any foreseeable crisis. Establishing and training a crisis management team or selecting an external crisis management firm with a proven track record in your business area. Involving as many stakeholders as possible in all planning and action stages. Three elements are common to a crisis: (a) a threat to the organization, (b) the element of surprise, and (c) a short decision time. Venette argues that "crisis is a process of transformation where the old system can no longer be maintained...

Words: 429 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Crisis Management

... 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 place...

Words: 969 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Crisis Management Communication Plan

...Crisis Management Communication Plan Katherina Fabi HCS/350 February 4, 2014 Djuanique N. Slaughter, MPA, RHIT Crisis Management Communication Plan Crisis is defined as an unexpected, sudden turn of events or set of circumstances requiring an immediate human response. The word crisis comes from the Greek root word krisis, meaning “turning point.” There are different types of crisis: developmental, situational, and adventitious crisis. In health care settings, most crises are situational. For example, while working in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), a client who was awake and alert two hours ago, suddenly became unresponsive. The client was assessed for responsiveness. The client was not breathing and pulseless. Immediately, a code blue was paged overhead, and the team rushed over. The team consists of the primary nurse, emergency physician, respiratory therapist, critical care nurse, recorder, and the emergency medical technician (EMT). The House Supervisor and charge nurse are also available to direct traffic and assist with the code blue. Each team has their own roles and responsibilities during a code. A team leader is usually the critical care nurse until the emergency physician arrives, and he or she takes over the role as team leader. The team leader designates the recorder, the nurse who is administering the intravenous medications, someone doing the compressions, and someone giving breath to the client. Each one working together as a team to resuscitate...

Words: 990 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Crisis Management Communication

...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...

Words: 517 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Crisis Management Research

...Crisis Management Simulations Preparing for the unexpected is what most businesses and governments strive to do. They hope to curb the next disaster in their favor. Or in worst-case scenario, businesses and governments hope to at least curb the crisis to be the least damaging to their image. The question people struggle with is how can these organizations prepare for every possible crisis they could encounter? It is simple: they cannot. However, with today’s technology many organizations have implemented crisis management simulations to better prepare for these worst-case scenarios as well as test the organizations’ tactics used in managing crises. Crisis simulations are relatively new and unheard of in some companies. Crisis management’s purpose is to engage “the whole organization in efforts to avert crises that may affect the firm, and to effectively manage those that do occur” (Pearson, n.d.). Organized crises are used in firms to simulate a crisis, such as a PR scandal or terrorist attack, and test the organization’s reaction to the event, how the crisis is handled, and if it is done effectively. These simulations are recently becoming popular to use in organizations because of new technology that gives them a real-time, fast-paced feel. Companies are now realizing that “as the development of new technology outpaces our ability to fully understand its impact, and as global reach relentlessly stretches organizational capabilities, ‘firefighting’ becomes a way of life” (Pearson...

Words: 1354 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Communication and Management Crisis

...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...

Words: 1677 - Pages: 7