T
here have been plenty of highprofile crises in the media over the last few months. In the UK we have had the phone hacking scandal and the recent Barclay’s Libor-fixing debacle to name but two. As we watch the media dissect these cases and inform the world of every last detail, it’s hard to imagine ourselves being in such a position. The crises we have seen of late have involved huge, multinational enterprises so if you are a smaller organisation, you could be forgiven for thinking this could never happen to you. However, all businesses are at risk of crises – they can happen to anyone at any time. If not managed correctly, a crisis can spell the end for a company’s brand reputation. Avoiding a crisis completely is not
always possible, so what can you do to limit the damage? And what exactly constitutes a crisis? Managers perform their roles in environments over which they do not have absolute control. From time to time life throws them a curve ball which causes disruption to their orderly lives. When the disruption is severe, they become exposed to a crisis. Characteristics of a crisis Crises can have a serious impact upon the organisation or individual manager. They can arise from external or internal events, but they have a number of common characteristics. They are most often unexpected, their causes are not always obvious, their outcomes tend to be unpredictable, but above all, they require immediate attention—an
“When a crisis arises it has a similar impact to being told that one has a serious disease” 42 | BE emea
Crises can have a serious impact upon organisation or individual manager