Assignment: Current Events Crisis Analysis Essay

This paper should be written in an APA-Style format.

Your paper will be evaluated on the following:

• Content
• Grammar
• Structure and mechanics
• Relevance to the topic(s)

Each essay will be submitted to Turnitin.com, via the Dropbox link in Blackboard.

Current Events Crisis Analysis: This assignment requires students to identify and examine a current example of a crisis taken from the news. Students will analyze various elements for consideration and apply course concepts. Students will critique the company/individual in terms of what was done well and what perhaps could have been orchestrated better and why.

Instructions:

Write about a company or industry that has faced or currently faces a crisis (or that is grappling with an issue which threatens to become a crisis.)

Include the following components: 1) analyze the underlying causation); 2) a stakeholder analysis; 3) review what the organization did in response, and 4) evaluate its effectiveness and determine whether other approaches might have been taken.

You should do an analysis rather than a description. In addition, you should include documentation of source material. Finally, whichever sort of topic you choose should be of real interest to you.

Length: 3-5 pages (it's expected that you employ sources, attributions and bibliography.)

Be sure to provide informed and thoughtful answers to all of the guideline suggestions/questions.

Style: APA Format.

Guidelines:

I. Define the organization and its crisis / potential crisis.

II. Crises develop in four stages: Warning (detection, prevention, preparation), Point-of- no-return (containment), Cleanup (recovery), and Back-to-normal (learning). What stage(s) apply to this crisis?

III. Who do you think is in charge of managing the crisis?

a. What are their highest priorities?
b. What are their motives behind their decisions?

IV. Attempt to define the stakeholders and their concerns.

a. What are the communication strategies?
b. What are the messages?
c. Are there any inconsistencies between early response and later response?
d. Did the organization utilize any intermediaries to help manage its relationships with stakeholders?

V. Evaluate the organization's responses.

a. Restores trust? Damaging? Honest? Explanatory? Plain speech vs. technical speech? Deflects or invites participation of those affected to seek solutions? Ignores, meets or exceeds stakeholder expectations?

b. Were concerns dismissed? Was blame cast elsewhere? Were mistakes acknowledged? Sympathetic? Were public apologies made?

VI. In your opinion, how well was the organization prepared for this crisis? Explain.

VII. If an organization's reputation has been damaged, how might it be restored?

VIII. Can you detect or predict any potential benefits from this crisis?