Discussion background: This discussion focuses on communication in real-life situations.
Discussion assignment: Please find a real-life example of an organizational crisis. Discuss how you would respond from a public-relations standpoint.
What audience(s) would you try to reach? What would your message(s) be? What steps would you take to get that message out? What specific tools and tactics would you use? What would you NOT do? How would evaluate the effectiveness of your messages?
Some possible examples of real-life crises: A natural disaster (hurricane, tornado, flood). An industrial accident (chemical spill, fire, explosion). A school or workplace shooting. A plane crash. A major product recall for safety reasons. A security breach affecting customer or patient private information. A financial, ethical, or personal scandal involving a top company official. A major lawsuit against the company. You can probably find or think of others. Just be sure to find one for which you can recommend a strong public-relations response.
IMPORTANT: Please do not use the following cases:
--The Bhopal disaster (discussed in Forum #6B).
--The Tylenol poisonings, the Exxon Valdex oil spill, or the Horace Mann School sex-abuse case (all discussed in previous classes that many of you have taken).
--The cases in Chapter 12 of our textbook. These include Case #12-1 (BP oil spill), #12-2 ((Imperial Sugar), 12-3 (Starbucks), and 12-4 (Writers Guild of America). We'll be discussing these cases next week.
About the ROPE method: As noted in the textbook (page 351), the ROPE method is of limited applicability in emergency communications because the situation typically requires getting information out as fast as possible. However, it's still worth reviewing this page to see whether any of the steps apply to the crisis you've chosen to discuss (and if they don't, that's fine).
As always, don't just list answers to the questions--write a cohesive essay that cites course materials as appropriate. Be sure to include a brief description of the crisis, and include live links to any outside sources you cite.