Principles of Crisis Management

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Crisis Action Planning

1. How can organizations successfully work together during a crisis?
Development of Coordination. Organizations experience a large number of coordination problems during a crisis. Social science researches have noted three major problems in coordination during a crisis: (a) Lack of consensus among organizations concerning the meaning of coordination; (b) Strained coordination between organizations working on common but new crisis related tasks; and, (c)Difficulties in achieving overall communication in a community disaster of any magnitude.

"Organizational Communication is a prerequisite to developing coordination. Organizations have to communicate internally and constantly exchange information among group members. Under normal conditions, the communication system is designed to process and exchange predetermined types and quantities of information. However, during a crisis, the number of staff using the communication system increases greatly. This is created in part by internal staffing changes undertaken by the organization to meet the demands of the crisis situation. For example, double shifts may be required or volunteers may be incorporated into the work force. Often, the existing communication system cannot accommodate the volume of information required by system users. The extra demands upon the internal communication system exceed its capability, this results in "overload," the net result of which causes either system failure or results in the loss or delay of information to, from, and among staff members."

Source: DISASTER CRISIS MANAGEMENT, E.L. Quarantelli, Disaster Research Center University of Delaware 1986

2. What tools can an organization bring to a crisis to mandate success?

Crisis management tools are more or less similar in both public and private sectors. These can include a wide variety of education, software, communication devices, handbooks, and various other necessary items.

1. Education - only those that are properly trained will respond in an appropriate manner during a crisis.
2. This is why those that will be responsible for leading others must be properly educated. This may involve attending internal or external crisis management seminars, training on appropriate crisis communication devices, software training, and simple leadership training.
3. Software - crisis management plans involve software of some kind. This may be email software or programs specifically designed for crisis communication that will notify a multitude of people of the impending circumstances with a couple clicks of the mouse.
4. Communication Devices - The variety of communication devices that are available today seem to be infinite. These devices are important tools in the midst of a crisis. Cell phones, texting devices, two-way radios, telephones, email, instant messaging, radio and television broadcasts, streaming video and audio communication, and simple sirens are all communication devices that can prove helpful in a crisis.
5. Policy - A good crisis management program will always include a written policy. This policy must be ...