The Crisis Manager

Facing Disasters, Conflicts,

and Failures
Second Edition

O t t o Lerbinger

Routledge
Taylor & Francis Croup
NEW YORK AND LONDON

Contents

Preface to the Second Edition

xi

PART I

Preparing for an Era of Crises

The Connection Between Risk and Crisis Management 2

1 Understanding Crises
Proliferation and Severity of Crises 6
Recognizing a Crisis 8
Characteristics of a CrisisHow Managers Are Affected 10
Crisis as Opportunity 14
The Inevitable Involvement of the Media 15
Potentialfor Public Exposure of Crises Grows 15
Classifying a Crisis 17
Conclusions 22
Appendix to Chapter 1: Guidelinesfor Analyzing Crises 23
2 Risk M a n a g e m e n t : Preparingjfbr the Worst

25

The State of Crisis Preparedness 26

Examples of Crisis Preparedness 28
Surveys on State of Crisis Preparedness 29
Components of Crisis Preparedness 30
Essentials of a Contingency Plan 33
Keep a Logand Learn from Failures 42
Conclusions 44
3 Crisis C o m m u n i c a t i o n
The Media Can Damage Reputations 45
Crises of Communication Failure 46
Essentials of Crisis Communication 51

45

viii

Contents

Guidelinesfor Crisis Communication 53

Conclusions 59
4 Image Restoration Strategies in Crisis Communication

61

Defensive and Accommodative Strategies 62

The Art of Apology 63
Analyzing Crisis TypesMarcus and Goodman Study 66
Two Illustrative Cases: Firestone/Ford and Archbishop Cardinal Bernard Law 67
Conclusions 74

PART II
Crises of the Physical Environment

77

Similarities and Differences 77

Coping with Risk 78
5 Natural Crises

85

Major Natural Disasters 85

Hazard Management Strategies 90
Overview ofFEMA's Emergency Management Strategies 90
Mitigation: Reinforce the Physical Infrastructure 91
Preparedness 92
Quick ResponseActivate Contingency Plans 98
Relief and Recovery Efforts 99
Conclusions 105
Appendix to Chapter 5: Major Issues in ReliefEfforts 106
6 Biological Crises

II I

Characteristics ofBiological Diseases 111

Major Cases ofBiological Crises 114 ' r
Strategiesfor Dealing with Biological Crises 124
Conclusions 130
7 Technological Crises
The Rapid Pace of Growth of Technology 132
Relevance ofRisk Analysis 133
Three Recent Technological Crises 134
Hazard Management Strategiesfor Managing Technological Crises 141
The Futurefor Dangerous Technologies 150
Conclusions 151
Appendix to Chapter 7: Nanotechnology 152

I3I

Contents ix
PART III
Crises of the Human Climate

155

Application ofIssues Management 156

8 Confrontation Crises

159

The Dynamics of Confrontations 160

Case Studies 164
Managing Confrontation Crises 174
Conclusions 183
9 Crises of M a l e v o l e n c e

185

Terrorism 185
Varieties of Malevolent Acts 187
Strategiesfor Countering Acts ofMalevolence 200
Conclusions 206

PART IV
Crises of Management Failure

207

Damaged Relationships 208

Central Role ofEthics 209
Measuring Degree ofSuccess 212
10 Crises of M i s m a n a g e m e n t

215

Cases ofMismanagement 216

Strategiesfor Responding to Crises ofMismanagement 226
Conclusions 233
11 Crises of S k e w e d M a n a g e m e n t V a l u e s

235

Cases of Skewed Values 236

Strategiesfor Managing Crises of Skewed Values 246
Conclusions 250
12 Crises of D e c e p t i o n
Cases of Management Deception 254
Response Strategies to Crises ofManagement Failure 270
Conclusions 277
Appendix to Chapter 12: Risk as Seen by Behavioral Economics 278

253

Contents

13 Crises of Management Misconduct

281

Major Cases ofMisconduct 283

Strategiesfor Handling Management Misconduct 292
Conclusions 297

PART V

Conclusions
14 Learning from Crises

299
301

Lessons Learnedfrom Crises 303

Organizational Renewal in the Aftermath ofa Crisis 310
Don't Waste a Crisis! 313
Notes
Index

3 15
365