The management of communications is a not unimportant variable. On the one hand, you can collaborate to exit gracefully or, on the contrary, sharpen it further. The managers of many companies are susceptible to these situations. They think that these are situations for other types of businesses, not for yours. They see from afar this possibility and it is not even considered in their annual communication plans. Here, McKinsey expresses very clear opinions on the subject. There are large companies that don’t even have structured a Department of external relations which could be responsible for the handling of crisis.
For some, the crisis may affect the positions of power of persons or organizations. A manager could see forced to resign and a President to decline his charge. For example, a crisis can be unleashed as a result of an accident, a strike of great dimensions, damage to the environment, statements by some of its members, the financial situation or information that was leaked. I will mention several examples of cases that have occurred in several countries of Latin America: 1. rumors of bankruptcy of a very strong Bank: the Bank really wasn’t in bankruptcy, but the rumor was that the interest made massive withdrawals, that Yes led to bankruptcy and closure of the Bank. 2.
An accident at an International University with students from various countries. A foreign student lost his life and made that the private University was about to close with the consequent deterioration of its international image. 3 Chemical spill in a factory of adhesives and industrial adhesives: medium environmental organizations are pronounced asking for closure and a million dollar compensation for employees and the city. 4 Accusations to officials of an institution of the Government of having received bribes to rig a millionaire international tender in the granting of international airports. 5. Mass poisoning by consumption of canned goods. The company that produces and distributes the canned is forced to withdraw all its products, with the consequent damage and subsequent mistrust of supermarkets and shops. And thus I could mention hundreds of situations that could lead to a crisis resulting in damage to the reputation of the company. Why everyone should analyze its vulnerabilities and potential of becoming a crisis situations. There is no single definition, depends on each case in particular and its context. The power, time, emotions and uncontrolled behaviour are inherent factors of the crisis to be analyzed detail. Prevention is the best proactive attitude that officers of a company with potential risks should be included in their projects. Without a doubt, in the crisis management experience shows but it is not necessary to arrive at this instance if some strategies you can implement to avoid them and deal with them with prior knowledge. Prevention, assumed from this perspective, is transformed into a fortress. The conjunction of these variables from the hand of the main actors exceed the impact of a crisis in better conditions. Develop a manual of crisis in advance, according to their needs, with professionals in the area of social communication, will help an organized to address the crisis.