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.
In this section, we will revisit the assignment's expectations and the steps necessary to complete the assignment effectively.
Assessed criteria:
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.
Assignment details:
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
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:
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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.
EXPLANATION OF CRISIS SCENARIO: 1 slide
Include key information (nature of the crisis, no. of people affected, date and location of crisis, what has been done about it).
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).
SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS (discussion of issues and risks related to the scenario): 3-4 slides
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.).
Identification of issue:
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