"This extraordinary rich and well-written work should be not only a part of management training programs,
but also required reading for every senior manager."
--William J. Kelly
"Barton's book is rare, adopted by leading colleges for classroom use, and by American Express, Nabisco, and
others in training programs. It is scholarly yet practical...breathtaking in depth."
--Alan Friedman
Thomson Learning Web Site, August, 2000
Summary
Crisis in Organizations is the most definitive and thorough work in the field of crisis management, providing
detailed research and sound advice on preventing and managing crisis. Readers explore the array of incidents that
face managers and organizations in crisis through a thoughtful blend of academic case studies and practitioner
insights. An analysis of over 1400 disasters was completed in creating Crisis in Organizations to allow the reader
to benefit from the learning curve of those confronted with real crisis.
Features:
Crisis Examination: Analyses of hundreds of crises that have impacted Coca-Cola, IBM, America On-line, and
others provide powerful insight into how people managed and mismanaged serious incidents.
Case Studies: Rich case studies ask "what would you do." These allow for group and individual analysis
to resolve serious challenges about people, products, competitive forces and community groups.
Crisis Management Template: A crisis management plan template that mirrors those used by leading corporations
worldwide, allows readers a rare look at responding to stakeholders (including investors, agencies, the news media
and employees) as soon as crisis strikes.
Executive Interviews: Provocative interviews with leading executives explore their experiences in crisis management.
Communication Insights: Crisis communication insights include detailed analysis of how the news media reports
disasters and specific tools managers can utilize to position their organization well during and after a disaster.
Avoiding Financial Meltdowns: This text covers important topics such as managing Internet chat rooms and investment
forums during a crisis along with how managing rumors about executives who are ill can help avoid a financial meltdown.
New Chapters: New chapters focus on employee communication, the hospitality industry, natural disasters and
workplace crime. Each chapter has been completely revised with new case studies and data providing a compelling
examination of how a disaster becomes a defining moment in the life of an institution.
Updated Cases and Insights: Case studies and insights from practitioners have been updated.
Table of Contents
1. THE CRISIS PRIMER.
What I've Learned. The Author's Personal Story. From Chaos to Normalcy.
2. RECOGNIZING A CRISIS SITUATION.
The Strategy of Crisis Management: A Team Approach - Senior Administration; Technical Operations; Public Affairs;
Public Relations; Consumer Affairs; Investor Relations; Advertising. Who's in Charge? Chances Are. The Fault, Dear
Brutus, Is Not in Our Stars, But in Ourselves. Case Study: Three Mile Island: The Impossible Accident Becomes Possible.
Case Study: A White House in Disarray. Case Study: Exxon: No One Is in Control. Review Questions.
3. ANTICIPATING CRISIS IS A TOOL OF SMART MANAGEMENT.
Assessing Risk. What Could Harm Us? Who's Ready for Crisis? - Assessing Crisis Preparedness; Private Companies:
Different Risks; Warning Signals; Who Owns the Radar?; Communication Channels; Risk Associated with the Product
or Service. Review Questions.
4. PUBLIC OPINION AND CRISIS: FROM MAIN STREET TO WALL STREET.
The Influence of Public Opinion. Public Relations Is Born. Reporters as Messengers. Modern History and Crises
- John F. Kennedy: An Amalgam of Intelligence and Rhetoric; Bill Clinton: Manic-Depressive Crisis Management. Meet
the Press. A New Citizen Activism. The Proactive Company and Reactive Manager. Review Questions.
5. SOUND BITES: EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION WHEN "IT" HITS THE FAN.
What's a Nice Company Like Yours Doing in a Headline Like This? -- Stakeholders; Goal; Message; Who Will Speak?;
Audience-Centric Thinking. Three Questions Asked in Every Crisis. Evaluating Your Crisis Response. Tools of Crisis
Response -- Press Releases; Press Kits; News Conferences; Meet the Press: Preparation Is the Key. Tools of Crisis
Communication -- Video News Releases (VNRs). The Legality of Crisis Communication. Review Questions.
6. WHAT WILL WE TELL OUR EMPLOYEES?
Employees: The Hidden Asset. Communicate Before a Crisis. Telling the Truth, Telling It Quickly. When Should
the Organization Communicate with Employees? The Right Staff. Employee Activism and Lawsuits. Communicating Bad
News. Review Questions.
7. MANAGING OTHER COMPLEX CRISES.
Market Risk Is Still a People Problem. Sell That Stock! Investors Are the Pulse. Who Cares? Communicating with
Investors. Product Controversies. Recalls Cause Financial and Reputation Harm. General Motors: "Make Them
Pay" -- A Classic: The Tylenol Recall; Tampons Under Scrutiny; Perrier: Managing a Recall Across the Atlantic.
Product Boycotts. Taking Charge During Product Problems. Who Listens to Rumors? Unfortunately, A Lot of Us. Not
in My Backyard. Strike One! Preparing for a Strike. Service Disruption. Review Questions.
8. CRIME: A GROWING MENACE FOR BUSINESS.
The Lessons of Littleton. Signals. The Long Island Massacre. Unabomber: Another Loner Kills. Why Intuition Matters.
Security at Work: Is There Any? Luby's: A Restaurant as Victim. Resources on Crime and Helping Victims. Internet
and Computer Crime. Terrorism: Death by Politics. Interview: Edward V. Badalato -- Companies Are a Major Target
for Counterintelligence and Theft. How Could Japan Ignore the Enemy Within? Review Questions.
9. CRISIS AND THE ENVIRONMENT.
Corporations Change Their Tune -- Love Canal: A Neighborhood at the Nucleus of Crisis; Chernobyl: A Complete
Accounting Could Take Centuries. Regulatory Enforcements as Deterrent. Responding to Environmental Abuse. Ecoterrorism.
Case Study: The City of Love Needs More Than a Hug. Review Questions.
10. WEATHER AS A CRISIS FORCE.
Why Care About Weather? Advances Made in Early Warning. A Single Day: Despair, Hope. Technology Advancements
Help with Emergencies. Interview: Richard Masoner -- "The City Crumbled...Broken Beyond Repair". Review
Questions.
11. THIS IS HOSPITALITY?
Who'd Want To Leave Home? Other Travel Risks. "Coke Cannot Seem To Do Anything Right". Hotels: Ground
Zero? Review Questions.
12. PREPARING MANAGERS FOR CRISIS: SIMULATING AND TESTING.
The Crisis Management Team -- Attorney; Public Relations Coordinator; Technical Resources; Controller; T Manager;
Regulatory or Public Affairs Expert; Office of CEO. Phase One: Fact Finding. Phase Two: Risk Assessment -- Role-Play
in Action; Synergy: A Meeting of the Minds. Phase Three: Communicating with Stakeholders. The Crisis Response Center.
Personal Response to Crisis. Stress Points in a Crisis. Review Questions.
APPENDIX A. CRISIS MANAGEMENT PLAN TEMPLATE.
Table of Contents. Acknowledgment. Your Crisis Team Must Be Reachable 24/7! Your Trade Association and Other
Key Partners. What Could Go Wrong? The Crisis Log. These People Also Matter! Crisis Report. Who Called? What Do
They Want? Public Inquiry. Information Systems (IS) Emergency Plan. News Media Inquiry. "All Politics Is Local."
Customer Communication. Additional Target Audiences and Categories. Three Questions You Must Answer in Every Crisis.
Chemicals: A Unique Crisis. Who Else Should Be Called?
APPENDIX B. CRISIS WEB RESOURCES.
Trauma and Post-Incident Management. Workplace Violence. Crisis Management and Crisis Communications. Business
Recovery. Crisis Communication. Disaster Response.
