Watching an organization's failures play out on the news because they don't have a functioning crisis communications plan is both devastating and humiliating. Few things in corporate communications are needed more, yet get less attention than the crisis management plan. A crisis management plan should tell you what to do in a crisis and when. It should be a simple fill in the blank system that walks you through each hour of the crisis, telling you what you should say, who you should say it to, and when to say it. It will also direct you as to what communications tools you should use, whether it be a news conference, e-mail, text messaging, a posting to a website, an employee meeting, etc. You will be asked to develop a crisis management plan for a company of your choice. Do not forget proposing how you would evaluate effectiveness of implemented solutions.