During my time at Emerson I have come to recognize why crisis planning is critical to the survival of an organization. In our ever changing world a company's image can so easily be turned upside down within a matter of hours. One factor playing into this is the growing presence and popularity of social media. Any individual can largely circulate a message, whether that message is true or not (a future post will give examples of how social media has impacted organizations both negatively and positively). As Dr. Payne always says, "The media is the most powerful force in the world today!"
By taking a look at recent crises surrounding organizations like BP and Toyota, one can see that major problems inevitably come and unfortunately a company often digs itself into a larger hole when amidst a crisis. Crisis experts Erika James and Lynn Wooten stated, "We want to emphasize that it is often the mishandling of crises, not the crises themselves, that can have the most severe consequences for a firm." Lack of planning and proactive action can turn a crisis into chaos instead of an opportunity. Yes, I said opportunity! If a firm carefully handles the situation by communicating their message in a consistent, clear, and credible way, a crisis can lead to a favorable outcome.
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