Overview

Crises take many forms: public health incidents, environmental threats, security threats, natural disasters, and transportation accidents, for example. For most, if not all, organizations, crisis is unavoidable.

The members of crisis management teams often form bonds with each other because of the incredible responsibility the team has.

They can feel good because they know what to do, who to call on the team, or when to contact the external stakeholders, such as the media, once the crisis has occurred. On the negative side, crisis management team members face the loss of human capital, as well as physical capital such as organizational infrastructure.

While not all members of crisis management teams will go to the site of the crisis event, they will still be aware of what has happened in an intimate way. Because crises have such an impact on both people and organizations, disaster response and recovery is a vital part of crisis management. Organizations must be able to mitigate the effects of crises that have occurred.

This is a case study analysis. In the analysis, describe the crisis that occurred, the organization and stakeholders who were affected, the response to the crisis, and the changes you would suggest to improve the response.

In this project, demonstrate your mastery of the following outcomes:

Assess crises for their impact on organizations and personnel involved in critical incidents and corresponding disaster response and recovery efforts

Evaluate disaster response and recovery activities for how they mitigate the effects of crises

Assess the degree of crisis response success based on critical incident analysis of disaster response and recovery efforts

Evaluate the coordination, cooperation, and communication between internal and external stakeholders for more effective management of crisis events

Recommend crisis management strategies that lead to faster response measures and improved recovery support in critical incidents

Prompt

For this project, choose one of the following case studies: Plans vs. Politics New Orleans After Katrina or Almost a Worst-Case Scenario: The Baltimore Tunnel Fire of 2001.

Then analyze the real-world critical incident provided in the case study. You will begin your case study analysis by describing the organization impacted by the crisis, describing the critical incident that occurred, and assessing the impact of the crisis on the organization.

Then examine the organization's response to the crisis, assessing the degree of success of the response. Next, look at the impact of the crisis on the organization's internal and external stakeholders and evaluate their coordination, cooperation, and communication. Finally, offer recommendations to be used in planning for future crisis events.

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed:

I. Crisis

A. Organization: Concisely describe the organization impacted by the crisis. In your description include information such as the location, nature, and structure and size of the organization.

B. Critical Incident: Describe the critical incident that occurred, including who was involved, what happened, and when, where, and why it occurred. Make sure to provide enough detail to establish a clear picture of the crisis that happened.

C. Impact on Organization: Assess the impact of the crisis on the organization as a whole. In other words, how did the crisis affect the entire organization?

II. Response

A. Objectives: Assess the organization's objectives for managing the crisis. What were the outcomes that management sought?

B. Activities: Describe the organization's response to the crisis. In other words, what were the disaster response and recovery activities employed by the organization to respond to the crisis? Include a chronological progression of the steps taken by the organization to respond to and recover from the crisis.

C. Crisis Mitigation: How did the steps taken by the organization mitigate the effects of the crisis that occurred?

D. Successes: Determine which parts of the disaster recovery and response efforts were successful. Justify your determination of the success with evidence.

E. Failures: Determine which parts of the disaster recovery and response efforts were unsuccessful. Justify your determination of the failures with evidence.

F. Degree of Success: Assess the degree of crisis response success based on the successes and failures you previously identified. In other words, what is your overall assessment of the crisis response?

III. Stakeholders

A. Communication: Identify the internal and external stakeholders impacted by the crisis. What channels of communication were used between the internal and external stakeholders during the crisis?

B. Evaluation: Evaluate the coordination, cooperation, and communication of the stakeholders based on current research and theory in disaster response and recovery.

C. Crisis Management: How could the crisis have been managed more effectively? Your response should be supported by your evaluation of the coordination, cooperation, and communication of the stakeholders.

D. Impact: What was the impact of the crisis on the internal and external stakeholders? In your response, ensure that you include employees of the organization as well as the first responders and emergency management personnel who responded to the crisis.

IV. Recommendations

A. Response Measures: Recommend crisis management strategies that will help the organization respond more quickly in a crisis. In other words, what improvements could the organization make regarding faster response measures?

B. Recovery Support: Recommend crisis management strategies that will help the organization improve their recovery support. In other words, what improvements could the organization make regarding recovery support?

C. Conclusion: Conclude your case study analysis by synthesizing your findings. Emphasize what you think the organization should have done differently in the crisis. An exemplary response will showcase both your understanding of the crisis that impacted the organization and your understanding of disaster recovery and response measures.

Guidelines for Submission: The case study analysis should adhere to the following formatting requirements: 10-12 pages in length, with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Use current APA style guidelines for your citations and reference list.