النهار

A crisis may be understood as the emergence of risk, posing the potential for harm to stakeholders or organizations. Those harms could directly influence financial and reputational aspects. Notably, quick actions by crisis managers can hinder the harm of a crisis. Roux-Dufort (2007) contends that crises do not always follow a linear progression. However, we can classify a crisis as having two phases, pre-crisis and post-crisis.

Further Definition

To elaborate more on the definition of crisis communication and the usage of strategic communication to manage information during a crisis. Strategic communication is formulated to accomplish targeted objectives. The purpose of crisis communication is to protect organizations and stakeholders from the consequences of a crisis. For example, protecting stakeholder safety, preventing reputational harm, and minimizing the detrimental consequences on purchase intentions are a few examples of crisis communication goals (Coombs, 2015). In order to preserve the organization’s reputation and control stakeholder perceptions, the Situational Crisis Communication theory (SCCT) offers a framework for choosing the best communication tactics based on the kind of crisis and the organization’s degree of responsibility. According to SCCT, in order to efficiently protect an organization’s reputation and other properties, managers need to utilize more flexible tactics as their level of crisis responsibility increases. Instead of emphasizing organizational demands, accommodative solutions prioritize the needs of the victim.

Communication Crisis Strategies

The two main components of crisis communication are managing information and managing meaning. Gathering and sharing crisis information is the essence of information management. Information management, both internal and external, is included. Internal information management is the process of gathering and analyzing data to facilitate decision-making. One aspect of managing external information is alerting stakeholders to a crisis. managing meaning involves influencing people’s perceptions of the company and this issue. Crisis communication is frequently used to influence opinions about the crisis by affecting the extent to which the organization is held responsible for it and by presenting the organization with a positive reputation to the public (Coombs, 2015).

When to Communicate about a Crisis?

Claeys (2017) highlights a new concept, "stealing thunder”, in which if a company is the first to reveal negative news, it can lessen its impact and reduce the impact of the following crisis. A senior communication manager was interviewed by Claeys and Opgenhaffen (2016) concerning “stealing thunder”. It was determined that managers rarely use the “stealing thunder” for three reasons. First, some managers believe that delaying action is preferable. Acting too soon can be dangerous because the company may be able to resolve the issue internally and prevent it from reaching the public. Second, managers seek ideal conditions to use “stealing thunder”. The most beneficial situations are often those in which the crisis implies external concerns and a greater risk of damage. Third, the use of “stealing thunder” may be prohibited for legal or management issues (Claeys and Opgenhaffen,2016).

Monitoring Social Media and Stakeholders

The media is critical for crisis communication. As people have witnessed man-made disasters like the crisis information production and dissemination are essential for crisis planning, response, and recovery. Although communication experts and media professionals acknowledge the value of interacting with the public through various media platforms, it hasn't proven easy to do so successfully when using both traditional and social media.