Issues, Risk and Crisis Communication
In this section, we will revisit the assignment's expectations and the steps necessary to complete the assignment effectively.
● Evaluate communication strategies undertaken by a range of local and international companies in response to crises, and the role of stakeholder groups.
● Create a risk or crisis communication plan that addresses what to do in response to a real-world issue or crisis.
● Requirement: an action plan in the form of a pitch deck (presentation slides) to minimize reputational damage of the client company when a specific crisis occurs.
● Format: pitch deck for a 15-minute presentation
● Objectives: No major elements to be demanded.
● Suggested tools: Canva and PowerPoint for slide-making.
● Assignment structure:
- A brief discussion of the issues and risks pertaining to your chosen client,
- Explanation of the crisis scenario that is affecting your client and around which your work will focus on,
- The client’s goal(s),
- A stakeholder analysis and identification of target public(s),
- Key message(s) and supporting information,
- Selection and justification of appropriate communication channels, social listening practices,
- Organization of a crisis communication team,
- Other recommendations regarding timing of message release, appropriate client spokesperson(s), media relations, pre-crisis work, etc.
In this segment, we will take another look at the terminology associated with assignment that is discussed within the context of the course.
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Term |
Definition |
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Issue Life Cycle theory |
A life cycle of an issue is as follows: Early, emerging, current, crisis, and dormant. As it progresses, it becomes more prominent and less controllable. |
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Powerful Stakeholder theory |
Called a “stakeholder ecosystem”, this theory locates certain stakeholders that are influential and relevant and identifies the impact they have on an organization’s actions. |
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Situational Crisis Communication theory |
This theory helps an organization acknowledge the manner in which stakeholders will respond to various strategies. It also states that the end goal of crisis response is to reimpose the company’s reputation and fame. In this concept, there are 2 types of information: instructing and adjusting, in which the organization displays its key message and actions. Furthermore, there exist 4 postures a company can take when approaching crisis communication: denial, diminishment, rebuilding and bolstering. |
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Networked Crisis Communication theory |
As opposed to the above theory which doesn’t take into account the role and effect of social media communication, this one emphasizes the networking of society like social relations and social media. The medium in which crisis communication is broadcasted matters more than message itself in this approach. |
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Reputation repair strategies (derived from SCCT) |
These are ways to restore a company’s image during and after a crisis: - Attack the accuser: Confronts who believes something is wrong with the company - Denial: “there is nothing wrong”, “there is no crisis” - Scapegoat: Blames another person/organization for the situation - Excuse: Diminishes harm to reputation by denying intentions to do harm, pleading its powerlessness in controlling the situation - Provocation: the crisis was a result of the company’s own justified response to something else - Defeasibility: A lack of information and data was what led to the crisis - Accidental: The incident was an unfortunate one which no one anticipated could happen. - Good intentions: “company meant to do well” - Justification: Minimizes perceived damage caused by the crisis - Reminder: Reminding publics of past good work the company has delivered - Ingratiation: Praises stakeholders for their support and cooperation - Compensation: Offers money, refund or other types of rewards to victims - Apology: the company takes full responsibility |
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Benoit’s image restoration theory (Benoi 2015) |
The allegations and beliefs of the public have two parts: responsibility and offensiveness. There are five methods to deal with this situation of suspicion:
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In this step, we will discuss in detail each component and its requirements within the assignment.
From the short idea provided in the assignment brief, you must develop it into a real case, with accurate specifications and precise knowledge about the incident. In this aspect, please only include key information (nature of the crisis, no. of people affected, date and location of crisis, what has been done about it). During your presentation you’ll need to deliver the rest of the story (other facts about the incident). Only a slide is needed for this part so as not to take up much time.
Example: For this case study, the food poisoning crisis that occurred in Haidilao’s (popular hotpot restaurant) Nguyen Chi Thanh branch in 2022 will be taken as an example. The bolded information is important, to be included in your slide.
In the middle of July 2022, a party of 9 people dined at Haidilao Nguyen Chi Thanh. Out of them, 4 people later experienced stomach ache that only grew with time, which was later determined as gastroenteritis by doctors despite not having had previous records with this type of pain. Some of the food items they had were Mala flavored hotpot, fried rice, cheese tteokbokki, beef and lamb meat. This food poisoning case was quickly caught on by the media, but it was before one of the victims contacted Haidilao for information. They were told by the restaurant chain that the cause was the dishes they had prior to the one at Haidilao, and failed to follow up with them (Jennie 2022).
This is where you channel your work in assignment 1 to identify the risks and harmful effects this scenario is going to have on your company’s operations. Here is a list of compulsory components to be included in this section:
● Client background: nature of the company, location, company size (branches, staff, etc.), industry, mission, values (keep it as brief as possible)
Example: Founded in 1994 in Sichuan, China, Haidilao Hotpot is a restaurant chain that serves a multitude of hotpot meals and flavors from across the world. Entering the Vietnamese market in 2019, it currently has 12 restaurant locations, 5 of which are situated in Hanoi (Haidilao n.d.).
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