The text for this question is: Fearn-Banks, Kathleen (2011), Crisis Communications: A Casebook Approach, 4th Edition, Mauwa, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Minimum of 500 words for each question. Proper APA citation is highly required.
Question 1: Crisis Communications Theory
1. What are the risks or dangers of not responding to the news media even when the information is negative to your organization? Why is it best to tell one's own bad news?
2. Look at various corporate and organizational websites and notice how important employees are to the organization. Are there indicators that employees are a key concern? Or are the employees merely a means to helping the company succeed? What are some methods of building relationships with employees? What communications can help with that relationship-building? Would it matter to external publics what the relationship is between a company and its employees? Why or why not?
Question 2: Crisis Communications Cases
1. Look up websites of companies mentioned in the chapter and see if there are still any lingering posts, blogs, etc., on the crises covered. Were additional actions taken by the company? Did additional problems or crises develop? Was the problem mentioned in the chapter a prodrome (warning sign) for another crisis or problem?
2. Find a rogue website on the Internet and describe your response to it. Write a response that could be printed in a newspaper, circulated via e-mail, or posted on a website. Which method of responding would be most effective and why?
Question 3: Crisis Communications: Natural Disasters
1. One of the strategies of the PR consultants in the first news story was getting Red Cross first-aid kits included in an episode of The Real World and Red Cross vehicles in an episode of The West Wing. The Red Cross received 60 percent of the $3.6 billion that Americans donated for hurricane relief. Millions of people saw these TV shows and the name of the American Red Cross. Was the money well spent? Should donor money be used on such efforts? What are the positives, and the negatives?
2. HäagenDaz has won numerous awards for its campaign, but, as of early 2010, there was still not a known cause for the disappearance of the honeybee. Are there other tactics HäagenDaz could take on to alleviate the crisis?
Question 4: Crisis Communications: Foreign and Domestic
1. The Yuhan-Kimberly crisis began online and was fought online. If parents in the United States objected on blogs to a similar problem, what could crisis communicators do to assure the safety of babies is not compromised? What methods of communications would be most effective? What would be key messages? Any special events or special promotions? If the issue originated on blogs, would you limit the campaign to online communication, or would you also seek the news media? If the complaints were limited to one city, would you respond only in that city?
2. What does the spokesman mean when he said, in his conclusion, "Approach with a human face is the basic part of crisis communication?"
3. Pick a possibly preventable crisis in a local company and discuss how a campaign could be developed to prevent the occurrence. (Check chapter 16, "The Crisis Communications Plan.")
Question 5: Crisis Communications: Death and Injury
1. Imagine such a game. What do you think of this game? Is it insensitive, does it trivialize the actions of killers or would it serve as a prodrome to those who play it, urging them to heed warning signs? How could an online game about the incident be made to be a lesson of understanding? Can a game be fun and educational/informative?
2. Why do political figures frequently lose their positions after scandals, but entertainers and sports figures, even if they go to jail, are often returned to their former positions as stars? If you were a publicist or agent to a celebrity, would you attempt to establish rules with your client, warn him/ her about appropriate and inappropriate behavior, or just bank your salary and let things occur?
Question 6: Crisis Communications: Consumer-caused Crises
Think back over the past several years to when you have seen media spokespersons. Who do you recall? Why did this person make an impact on you and the crisis?