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Crisis Management Best Practices:

A Content Analysis of Written Crisis Management Plans
Barbara S. Gainey
Kennesaw State University
bgainey@kennesaw.edu

This study, through a content analysis of written crisis management plans and
accompanying survey research, seeks to establish a best-practice framework for
meaningful evaluation of written crisis management plans in educational
organizations. This research will propose additional ways to improve the crisis-ready
status of public school districts, with implications for other organizations.
The body of literature and research on crisis management, while expanding, has been limited and
primarily focused on the for-profit business sector. Educational institutions, particularly kindergarten
through twelfth-grade public schools, are affected by a broad range of crises, from the more common
inclement weather crisis to the more high-profile crises of Columbine or educating students in the
shadow of the terrorist-targeted World Trade Center. Because schools are public institutions serving
local communities and their youngestand arguably most vulnerablecitizens, and because public
schools are democratic institutions charged with promoting the principles of a free, democratic
society, public school districts are an appropriate focus for further crisis management research.
In a recent research project, crisis management in one states public school districts was
studied. The research focused on crisis management preparation in South Carolina school districts
and the extent to which these districts are crisis-ready organizations. Crisis-ready was defined as
being prepared to respond to crises through (1) development and implementation of formal crisis
management plans, (2) plans for two-way communication that build relationships with internal and
external stakeholders, and (3) strategies for providing effective leadership within the culture of the
school community. Crisis management plans, communication with key stakeholders, and cultural
leadershipthe new three Cswere defined as essential components for organizations to be
considered crisis-ready organizations. This research contributed to the body of crisis management
knowledge by expanding research into the public sector.
A natural next step would be to conduct a content analysis of public school district written
crisis management plans and, through accompanying survey research, to examine the way these plans
are used in their respective organizations. This research could shed additional light on ways to
improve the crisis-ready status of public school districts, with implications for other organizations.
Crisis management elements cited in the literature resolve around key components: crisis
prevention and preparation steps, formal crisis management plans, crisis management teams, actions
during a crisis, media relations, communication with key publics (internal and external), and postcrisis activities such as evaluation. If school districts, or any other organizations, are to be considered
crisis-ready, they must address basic crisis management elements. This research will develop a
comprehensive framework of (1) basic crisis management components and (2) crisis categories
(natural disasters, structural/physical problems, environmental hazards, and human situations such as
shootings or hostage situation) that should be present in formal crisis management planning.
The first phase of this ongoing research will center on the literature review, developing a
framework of pre-crisis, crisis, and post-crisis activities.

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Crisis Management Review
The discipline or practice of crisis management (Rudolph, 1986; Burnett, 1998) has been
making headlines for slightly more than 20 years, with Johnson & Johnsons handling of the first
Tylenol-related crisis marking its 20th anniversary in 2002. While Johnson & Johnson, like most other
corporations at the time, had no formal crisis management plan in place in 1982, the welldocumented crisis clearly pointed to the need for such planning.
A review of crisis management literature points to a continuing need for formal crisis
planning. In 1985, Business Week reported that most companies are abysmally prepared for
crisisEven at companies that boast a plan, it often boils down to the CEO telling his PR
department to be ready for dealing with it, according to Gerald J. Voros, Ketchum
Communications, Inc., president (Business Week, 1985, p. 74-76). Since 1982, corporate crises have
involved defective products or product tampering, environmental crises, terrorism, workplace
violence, or other crises that threatened a corporation's reputation or future. In some cases,
organizations have been responsive, but many organizations have found they were ill prepared. In a
study by Fink (1986), 89 percent of the chief executive officers of Fortune 500 companies reported
that a business crisis was almost inevitable; however, 50 percent responded that they did not have a
crisis management plan. Even so, 97 percent felt either very confident or somewhat confident that
they could respond adequately to a crisis (Fink, 1986). According to a 1986 Time magazine article,
Despite the new popularity of crisis management, executives who are fully ready to respond to
emergencies are still in the minority. When a disaster unfolds, many corporate chiefs shake their
heads and refuse to acknowledge the gravity of the problem (Rudolph, 1986, p. 2). A 1994 study by
Tiller found that fewer than 60 percent of the Fortune 1,000 industrial and 500 service companies had
operational crisis management plans (Gonzalez-Herrero and Pratt, 1996). A public relations
professionals job may be even more difficult if the crisis is not at the full-blown crisis stage yet;
Its often hard to convince top management to mobilize resources to combat the crisis while it is still
emerging, according to Reinhardt (1987, pp.43-44).
The familiar reactive try-and-fail method, the muddling-through strategy, is ill suited to
the present situation, according to Pauchant and Mitroff (1992, p. 32). Considering the dangerous
technologies used nowadays, industrial disasters now have global impactsWe can no longer afford
to muddle through. We need to become proactive and anticipate as thoroughly as possible the lessons
for the future. According to one study, the majority of costs associated with a crisis are not the initial
costs of creating a plan or even legal or judgment costs but rather market coststhe cost of lost
salesand market share (Stocker, 1997).
The crisis management field has developed, at least in part according to Reinhardt, in
response to the growth of electronic media as a primary news source, the increasing media savvy of
special-interest groups, and the rapid rise in instantaneous global communication (1987). In other
words, crisis management for some organizations has been a reactive or defensive response to the
potential for a local crisis to go national quickly through the electronic media.
High profile cases may have provided the impetus for crisis planning in corporate America.
As Caponigro has observed, This is a new way of thinking in business (2000, p. xiii). Crisis
planning is also a new way of thinking for educators. The crisis at Columbine High School
demonstrated to public educators the need for formal crisis planning in the public sector. Public
schools were not insulated or immune to crisis situations. According to Karen H. Kleinz, associate
director of the National School Public Relations Association, Educators took their crisis plans off
the shelf, dusted them off and reviewed their procedures in response to school shootings that
culminated with the Columbine tragedy, which shook us all to the core, and seems to have at lat

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galvanized the nation into serious action and community discussion and engagement about youth
violence and other related social issues (Kleinz, 1999, p. 28).
As Columbine High School motivated educators to plan for the unthinkable, the events of
September 11, 2001, drove home the need for crisis planning for corporate America. According to a
CEO reputation survey by PR Week/Burson-Marsteller, 21 percent of 194 CEO respondents said they
had no crisis plan in place on 9/11. In the aftermath, however, 63 percent said they started to address
crisis planning (Schoenberg, 2005). However, other studies have found that more progress is needed.
According to a study by the International Profit Associates Small Business Research Board, 79
percent of American small businesses indicate they do not have a disaster-recovery plan in place (The
Central New York Business Journal, 2005). The American Management Association study in August
and September of 2005 found that, while more than half of the United States companies surveyed had
crisis management plans, the percentage with crisis plans had dropped from 64 percent in 2003 to 60
percent in 2005. Those with crisis plans are also addressing different concerns. In 2005, the greatest
concerns were natural disasters (77%), technology system failures (73%), industrial accidents (65%),
risks from crime (31%), terrorism (46%), and major fraud (18%). The AMA study also found that 56
percent of respondents said their organization had designated a crisis management team and that 50
percent had conducted crisis simulations. Thirty-eight percent of AMA respondents had provided
crisis management training for key personnel (AMA 2005 Crisis Management & Security Issues
Survey).
Other organizations are evaluating if their crisis plans cover enough possible scenarios. For
example, according to one report, spokepersons for a half dozen multinational firms could not locate
any specific plans for responding to major flu outbreaks or the avian flu, although some said such
illnesses would be covered under their general crisis plan (Brickey, 2005). According to the head of
two firms in Ohio, Unfortunately thats symptomatic of business today. There are so many demands
and so little time, so were not able to do as much forward planning as we need to (Brickey, 2005).
Dana Corp. indicated that it is adding avian flu provisions to its crisis plan, including possible travel
restrictions, changes in meeting sites and employee education programs; other companies are adding
telecommuting options, requiring passports updates in case of evacuations, and stocking respiratory
masks for employees and guests in Asian facilities (Brickey, 2005). Another study notes that while
progress is being made in the area of health emergency preparedness, the nation is still not ready to
respond to a major health crisis. The report, Ready or Not? Protecting the Publics Health from
Disease, Disasters, and Bioterrorism, by the nonprofit Trust for Americas Health, says not enough
has been done to plan for serving extra patients by using nonhealth care facilities such as community
centers, to encourage health care workers to report for work during a major infectious disease
outbreak, and to ensure adequate funding and resources to respond to health crises effectively
(American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 2006).
Crisis Management Defined
Numerous definitions of a crisis have been offered by researchers. A crisis has been defined
as an event that, at a minimum, is a threat or challenge to an organization's legitimacy or image
(Coombs and Holladay, 1996) or has the potential for endangering an organizations reputation,
future profitability, and even its survival (Lerbinger, 1997). Weick (1988, p. 305) defines crises as
"characterized by low probability/high consequence events that threaten the most fundamental goals
of an organization." Pauchant and Mitroff define a crisis as "a disruption that physically affects a
system as a whole and threatens its basic assumptions, its subjective sense of self, its existential core"
(1992, p. 15). Silva and McGann (1995) describe a crisis as a violation of vision, a disruption in the
ability to accomplish one's mission, and an event that affects values and has the long-term potential

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for damage to the organization and its relationships. Fearn-Banks describes a crisis as a major
occurrence with a potentially negative outcome that may affect an organization and its publics,
products, services and reputation (1996). Crises may "permanently redefine an organization in a new
and unexpected light," changing an organization's culture and business (Murphy, 1996). Crises are
often unpredictable but not expected; crises have the potential to disrupt or affect the entire
organization (Coombs, 1999).
Crisis management, on the other hand, proposes strategies for preparing for and handling
crisis events. Crisis management, according to Stocker (1997, p. 189), is the preparation and
application of strategies and tactics that can prevent or modify the impact of major events on the
company or organization. Kreps defines crisis management as the use of public relations to
minimize harm to the organization in emergency situations that could cause the organization
irreparable damage (1986, p. 247). Coombs says crisis management seeks to prevent or lessen the
negative outcomes of a crisis and thereby protect the organization, stakeholders, and/or industry from
damage (1999, p. 4). Fearn-Banks says crisis management is the strategic planning process that
removes some of the risk and uncertainty from the crisis, allowing the organization greater control of
its destiny (1996). Crisis communication, according to Fearn-Banks, is the communication that
occurs between the organization and its publics before, during, and after the crisis. According to
Stocker (1997), the evolution of crisis management parallels the rise in the practice of public
relations. The three objectives of crisis management, Stocker says, are to prevent a crisis when
possible, to modify the negative effects of a crisis on an organization and to, through its behavior,
provide a platform for the organization's future. Effective crisis management is a process, not an
event, according to Caponigro. It is an ongoing, systematic, and disciplined process that a business
should follow to help identify vulnerabilities, prevent crises from occurring, plan for those most
likely to occur, communicate effectively during and after a crisis, monitor and evaluate the situation,
and make adjustments as necessary (2000, p. 29).
Crisis management history offers lessons for public education. Johnson & Johnson, its
chairman James Burke, and the companys corporate culture are generally credited with providing
one of the bestand earliesthandlings of corporate crises in history (Benson, 1988; Fink, 1986;
Small, 1991; Fearn-Banks, 1996). Seven people in the Chicago area died in 1982 after unwittingly
taking Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules that had been laced with cyanide; even though Johnson &
Johnson was a victim of unanticipated product sabotage, the company was faced with a crisis that
threatened the future of the Tylenol brand (Fink, 1986). Although the company did not have a
formal, written crisis management plan in 1982, it was guided by a corporate credo that recognized
responsibility to four groups in the following order: consumers, employees, communities served by
the company, and stockholders (Fink, 1986; Fearn-Banks, 1996). Johnson & Johnson was well
served by the following:
The company had an established reputation of dealing fairly and honestly with the media. The
company practiced full and swift disclosure of information during the crisis (Kaufmann,
Kesner, Hazen, 1994).
Burke and his company were perceived as sincere and compassionate.
The public relations department was an important part of the crisis response team (Fink, 1986;
Small, 1991; Fearn-Banks, 1996).
When the company was confronted by poisoned capsules again in 1986, Johnson & Johnson
responded quickly to cease production of Tylenol capsules and replace them with a new product,
Tylenol caplets. Again, the company received high marks for its crisis response (Seitel, 2001).

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The important roles played by Burke as the organizations leader and public relations
professionals during this crisis and the model Johnson & Johnson demonstrated for working
effectively with the media are examples that have implications for crisis management in public
schools.
Other companies have not always fared as well in times of crisis. Exxon spent more than two
billion dollars in clean-up fees alone after the Exxon Valdez accident released almost 11 million
gallons of oil along Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989, and yet it is perceived as
having been unsuccessful in salvaging its public image and reputation in the face of the
environmental disaster (Small, 1991; Harrison and Prugh, 1989). Exxon was criticized for corporate
arrogance and being slow to demonstrate concern and accept responsibility for the accident
(Lukaszewski, 1993). Exxon Chairman Lawrence Rawl was perceived as unable to view the situation
from the medias and publics perspectives; the corporate culture was unable to overcome the
personal culture of its leader (Small, 1991). Exxon suffered by not taking charge of the news flow
and not providing a credible and empathetic chief executive officer as spokesperson (Lukaszewski,
1993, Harrison and Prugh, 1998). Other steps that would have been advisable for Exxon include
having a healthy relationship with the media prior to the crisis, a crisis management team, a crisis
audit, crisis training, and forums to receive internal feedback (Williams and Olaniran, 1994). This
crisis demonstrates that public perception of how an organization is handling a crisis may matter
more than the facts, and that a rapid apology-fact-action plan should be initiated to help gain public
support in a crisis (Lukaszewski, 1993, p. 208).
According to Small (1991, pp. 22-24), a number of lessons can be learned from the Exxon
Valdez crisis. These lessons are as relevant to public school districts as they are to the corporate
sector.
Show candor and repentance.
Move quickly when a crisis hits.
Prepare a crisis plan.
Make a conscious decision about whether the CEO should go to the scene of the crisis event.
Identify the CEO as the spokesperson, unless the CEO wont be perceived as forthright and
sincere.
Have an ongoing media evaluation program in place.
Centralize communications, both internally and externally.
Be aware of creative ideas, such as involving critics in solving the problem.
Build relationships with those who will matter in a crisis (the media, special interest groups,
and other external publics).
Build positive relationships with politiciansnever attack them.
Evaluate the appropriateness of paid advertisements and handouts.
Lukaszewski (1993) stipulated that the more complex the planning process, the less
management appeared willing to tend to issues of visibility and reputation. If an organization is
worthy of its reputation and interested in maintaining its credibility, then emergency preparations are
an absolute necessity. When bad news happens, critical audiences, including employees, have
expectations of a companys behavior and its ability to manage problems.Every organization and
business is vulnerable to mistakes, mishaps, unanticipated events, and human error. We are all
vulnerable. The prudent organization studies its vulnerabilities, identifies those most dangerous to the
organization, and prepares to manage them (Lukaszewski, 1993, pp. 210-211).
The credo in place at Johnson & Johnson and the organization's follow-through on a policy of
truthfulness and honesty won the company widespread respect in the wake of two separate episodes

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of product tampering. At the time of the first incident, the company did not have a formal crisis
management plan.
Similarly, McDonalds faced a crisis imposed on it from the outside following a shooting at a
California McDonald's in 1984. The company, with no formal crisis plan in place, demonstrated
concern and compassion by communicating with community leaders and seeking opportunities to
help the victims and their families. McDonald's formed a crisis team but credits the company's
effective crisis management as being guided by a management philosophy to "do what was right"
(Starmann, 1993; Marra, 1998, p. 468). According to Fink (1986, p. 40), A lesser establishment,
one without so much image credit at the bank of public opinion, might not have weathered the crisis.
Building goodwill and credible relationships in advance is one of the best crisis tactics and one that is
nearly impossible to do in the midst of a crisis (Stocker, 1997). Credibility with an organizations
publics must be earned over time; the positive relationships that have been built can be valuable when
confronting a crisis.
Reinhardt (1987) said, "No matter how perfect the timing of your communication during an
emergency, you cannot repair a poor past relationship with the media or with your target audiences.
In that sense, crisis communication really begins in your day-to-day employee, community and media
relations, before there's even an inkling of trouble" (p. 44). School districts should recognize that
building strong school-community and school-media relationships, while crucial to supporting the
central mission of educating students, also is vital in effective crisis management.
Pauchant and Mitroff (1997) identified 142 incidents that could turn into accidents or crises
for organizations, ranging from deaths (or injury) of a customer (or student) or employee, to rumors
or scandal, to layoffs and special interest group attacks, scenarios familiar regardless of the setting,
corporate or public sector (p. 26). Organizations fall on a compendium ranging from crisis-prone to
crisis-prepared. Four factors influence how crisis-prone or crisis-prepared an organization is:
Organization strategies, i.e., plans, mechanisms and procedures for crisis management.
Organizational structure, which either contributes to or inhibits crises.
Organizational culture, i.e., the organizations unwritten rules, codes of conduct, belief
systems.
Character and experiences of the individuals working for the organization (Pauchant and
Mitroff, 1997).
Crisis prepared managersdo their best to reduce the likelihood of crises and their effects when
they do happen. Crisis-prone managerscompletely deny the possibility of crises; they believe they
can manage them perfectly through an increase of control and technology or else invoke fate as an
excuse for doing nothing about them (Pauchant and Mitroff, 1997, p. 33).
Elements of Effective Crisis Management
The crisis management research literature identifies numerous elements important to effective
crisis management. Authors such as Fearn-Banks (1996) and Fink (1986) and editors such as
Gottschalk (1993) provide extensive detail about the crisis management process and crisis case
studies. For example, Fearn-Banks proposes five stages of a crisis: detection, prevention/preparation,
containment (to limit the duration or spread of the crisis), recovery, and learning (1996). Coombs
(1999) offers a comprehensive approach to crisis management, promoting the four steps of
prevention, preparation, performance, and learning (evaluating and the creating institutional
memory). Pauchant and Mitroff explore five phases of crisis management: signal detection,
preparation/prevention, containment/damage limitation, recovery, and learning (1992). Other sources

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offer insights through research studies, case studies and how-to-do-it approaches to crisis
management.
Reinhardt (1987, p. 44) recommends:
Communicate swiftly and as completely as possible. Fill the information vacuum or others
will do it for you.
Implement a crisis management plan through a steering group (crisis management team).
Notify top management of a crisis situation.
Use a designated, trained spokesperson.
Establish a center for the media.
Demonstrate the organizations concern but avoid causing panic.
Notify (train) personnel how to direct media inquiries (without responding themselves).

Katz (1987, pp. 46-47) recommends:

Gaining top management support for crisis preparation, taking into account the CEOs
personality and corporate culture.
Designating employee roles in a crisis.
Performing risk assessment audits.
Conducting issues management programs.
Developing a communication plan that includes identification of team members in a crisis,
communication strategies with key publics, designation of one spokesperson to present a
unified message, and updated media and other audience lists.
Conducting surveys of key publics to ensure that the organizations messages are focused on
the concerns of its publics.
Conducting mock crisis drills.
Training for making appearances before the media and government agencies.
Planning for direct communications with target audiences.
Planning for post-crisis communications.

An amply supply of stoicism, steadiness (concentration), stamina, and sensitivity (for people,
politics, and problems) are necessary attributes for spokespersons in a crisis (Lukaszewski, 1987).
Cultural values and sensitivities must be considered in some crises, such as airline disasters, to
achieve success in communications (Pinsdorf, 1991, Public Relations Review and Public Relations
Journal). Human sensitivity is demonstrated by showing concern for families affected by the crisis,
tapping into what the public is thinking and feeling (not just what the media reports the public is
thinking), avoiding the use of inappropriate terms that may come to misrepresent the crisis
(meltdown, for example from Three Mile Island), balancing terrorist threats, safety and the publics
right to be informed, and thinking accurately and not emotionally (Pinsdorf, 1991, Public Relations
Journal).
Crisis management elements cited in the literature resolve around key components: crisis
prevention and preparation steps, formal crisis management plans, crisis management teams, actions
during a crisis, media relations, communication with key publics (internal and external), and postcrisis activities such as evaluation. If school districts are to be considered crisis-ready, they must
address these basic crisis management elements.

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Recommendations regarding pre-crisis activities include:
Conduct a crisis or vulnerability audit of potential threats or weaknesses, as was
recommended in the Exxon Valdez crisis (Burnett, 1998; Katz, 1987; Williams and Olaniran,
1994).
Develop an issues management program (Burnett, 1998; Katz, 1987; Preston, 1991).
Develop an early warning system for crisis detection through scanning and issues
management (Pauchant and Mitroff, 1992). Union Carbide, for example, did not act on
warning signals received prior to the Bhopal, India, crisis (Pauchant and Mitroff, 1992).
Gain top management support (Katz, 1987) for the integration of crisis management in
corporate planning and strategic planning processes (Pauchant and Mitroff, 1992).
Develop and update a crisis management plan (Stocker, 1997; Fearn-Banks, 1996; Fink, 1986;
Kleinz, 1999). According to Fearn-Banks, a crisis communications plan is the primary tool
of preparedness (1996, p. 7).
o This crisis plan should identify key audiences, be in a three-ring binder so that it is
easy to change, include as many sample letters, documents and forms as possible,
identify a spokesperson, establish a communication procedure, delineate how to gather
information and how to communicate with the news media, a telephone tree for
communicating with key audiences, and even mailing labels or pre-addressed
envelopes (Armistead, 1996).
o In light of 9/11, Fearn-Banks recommends developing a plan that imagines the worst;
consider the most likely and damaging issues and situations the organization could
face (Fearn-Banks, 2002, p. 30).
o Other lessons learned from 9/11, according to Fearn-Banks, are being prepared for
people to be traumatized by the magnitude of the crisis; know how to contact
employees and their families; make plans for temporary workspace or alternate work
sites; recognize that cell phone communication is a necessity in a crisis; know how to
safely evacuate offices in an emergency; for precrisis partnerships to facilitate
communication in a mutual crisis (to ensure coordination among spokesperson and
executives); and, make sure employees are aware that jobs and companies can be lost
directly or indirectly because of a crisis event (Fearn-Banks, 2002, p. 30).
o Florida law (Safe Passage Act of 2001) requires the development of a crisis plan in
public school districts and requires districts to provide school site plans for blueprints
to emergency responders in their communities (Voices from the Field: Working
Together for Safe and Secure Schools, Florida Department of Education, 2002).
o Specify a schedule for revising the crisis plan, updating training and conducting
regular drills, and establish and maintain internal and external communication
procedures, including communicating with the media during crises (Voices from the
Field: Working Together for Safe and Secure Schools, Florida Department of
Education, 2002).
Create a crisis management team (Stocker, 1997; Fearn-Banks, 1996; Fink; 1986; Kaufmann,
Kesner and Hazen, 1994; Rudolph, 1986; Kleinz, 1999; Voices from the Field: Working
Together for Safe and Secure Schools, Florida Department of Education, 2002).
Develop a healthy relationship with the media prior to a crisis event (Williams and Olaniran,
1994, Kaufmann, Kesner and Hazen, 1994); initiate training for working with the media in a
crisis (Pauchant and Mitroff, 1992).

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Develop a communications plan that includes communication strategies with internal and
external publics and a plan for centralized communications to present a unified message
(Katz, 1987).
Train the spokesperson(s) for media coverage in a crisis (Katz, 1987, Reinhardt, 1987; FearnBanks, 1996).
Use a single spokespersonthe CEO or chairmanto create a unified message (Seeger,
Sellnow and Ulmer, 2003).
Develop fact sheets on each building site (each school and the district office) to give to the
media during a crisis; fact sheets would include school demographic data (number of students,
for example) and maps (Kleinz).
Establish a two-way communications program focused on building mutually beneficial
relationships. Continuous, ongoing public relations programs and regular two-way
communications build relationships with key publics and thereby prevent crises, lessen the
blows of crises, or limit the duration of crises, said Fearn-Banks (1996, p. 5).
Create emergency call lists and media notification lists (Rudolph, 1986; Fearn-Banks, 1996).
Address technology and equipment needs to facilitate communication in a crisis, including
radio systems, limited-range cellular service, bullhorns, air horns and pagers (Voices from
the Field: Working Together for Safe and Secure Schools, Florida Department of Education,
2002).
Determine terminology to be used to communicate a crisis internally. For example some
schools districts are now using plain English (lockdown and evacuate) instead of codes
to avoid confusion in a crisis (Voices from the Field: Working Together for Safe and Secure
Schools, Florida Department of Education, 2002).
Prepare key documents that would be important in a crisis, such as a map of the
organizations office, fact sheets with number of employees, etc., photos, executive
biographies, etc. (Fearn-Banks, 1996).
Determine equipment and supplies needed by the crisis team, media, and other publics (FearnBanks, 1996).
Enlist the crisis management advice of public relations firms or experts (Rudolph, 1986).
Conduct crisis training exercises (Katz, 1987; Voices from the Field: Working Together for
Safe and Secure Schools, Florida Department of Education, 2002), and participate in crisis
management workshops (Pauchant and Mitroff, 1992).
Put mechanisms in place to conduct public opinion research during a crisis (Katz, 1987).
Conduct contingency planning against acts of terrorism that includes setting up a terrorist
response team and monitoring current events related to terrorist acts and interests (Preston,
1991).
Promote cultural understanding, acceptance, and goodwill to reduce threats (Preston, 1991).
Develop anti-terrorism procedures for employees who travel internationally (Preston, 1991).
Be honest in communications efforts. Avoiding overselling new programs that may not
measure up to expectations, as NASA did with the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990
(Kauffman, 1997).
Create a strong, proactive and cooperative communication culture or ideology in the
organization (Marra, 1998; Fearn-Banks, 1996). AT&T exhibited such a culture during a
long-distance network crisis in 1990; NASA, on the other hand, demonstrated a closed and
defensive culture after the Challenger explosion (Marra, 1998).

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Recognize that perception and the court of public opinion can have a tremendous impact on
the organizations ability to withstand a crisis (Hearit, 1994).
Build goodwill and a solid reputation in advance of a crisis. It is nearly impossible to build a
relationship and credibility with stakeholders in the middle of a crisis (Stocker, 1997, p.
197).
Build relationships between schools and communities. Schools that try very hard to connect
to families and communities can find potentially destructive students earlier, according to a
Time magazine report published in the aftermath of the Columbine High School shootings
(Cloud, 1999, p. 40).
Be prepared to deal with interlopers, or third-parties who seek to be allowed on-site after
the initial crisis event. Political side issues involving gun control and a celebrity visit after the
shooting attack at a Stockton, California, elementary school created tremendous pressures for
the school districts public information officer and school children (Briggs, 1990).
Work with local officials (law enforcement, hospitals, and other emergency responders) and
other community resources (phone and cable companies and behavioral/mental health
services) in crisis management planning and implementation (Todd, 1989; Kleinz, 1999).
Install anonymous tip lines for students or parents who hear rumors or potential threats or
suspicious conversations or activities (Brown, 1999; Kleinz, 1999; Voices from the Field:
Working Together for Safe and Secure Schools, Florida Department of Education, 2002).
Conduct a safety assessment at each facility (Kleinz, 1999).
Set up a pre-designed shadow or dark Web site, ready to be activated in a crisis,
recommends Joan Cear, a senor vice president at G.S. Schwartz & Co. in Manhattan (Markus,
2001, 8A).
Pay attention to the role of leadership in a crisis. Leaders can exert a positive influence by
helping to frame the meaning of a crisis event, expressing appropriate concern and support,
overseeing mitigation, coordinating support and facilitating timely, open communication
(Seeger, Sellnow and Ulmer, 2003, p. 241). Crisis leadership may also adopted strategies to
minimize harm, deny responsibility and shift blame (Seeger, Sellnow and Ulmer, 2003).
Effective leaders may also have identified traits (credibility, communication skills and
decisiveness, for example) and act in symbolic ways (symbol of order and authority, provide
information and comfort, leverage resources) during a crisis (Seeger, Sellnow and Ulmer,
2003).

Recommendations for activities during a crisis are:

Take action quickly after the crisis event (Lerbinger, 1997; Burnett, 1998; Sen and Egelhoff,
1991). Organizations have a window of 45 minutes to 12 hours to gain control (Small, 1991).
Take a proactive communications posture when the crisis hits, unlike Dow Corning in its
silicone breast implants crisis (Rumptz, Leland, McFaul, Solinski and Pratt, 1992). In light of
the Food Lion crisis, organizations were advised to get the truth out quickly (Gunther, 1997).
The anthrax attacks in 2003 show that while communications must occur at the very birth of
the crisis, determining what the message should be to restore calm can be difficult in the face
of an evolving situation (Duhe 2005, pp. 7-13.)
Identify key messages to be communicated (Fearn-Banks, 1996).
While much of the literature encourages organizations to speak with one voice, with the
implication to rely on one spokesperson, Duhe suggests that the Canada SARS experience in
2003 demonstrates that it can be useful to rely on a team to communicate a similarly themed

IPRRC - 192
messagemultiple faces add credibility when communicating with multiple audiences
(Duhe, 2005, pp. 7-13).
Make a conscious decision as to the role of the CEO and whether this leader should go to the
scene of the crisis event (Small, 1991). Encourage management to be visible and involved
(Bobo, 1997).
Make a special effort to keep employees informed (Williams and Olaniran, 1994). Dont
forget to address the needs of your internal audience and to provide emotional support to
those affected by the crisis (Todd, 1989; Bobo, 1997).
Create a crisis management center. Equip the center (for the media) and the public relations
staff/crisis management team with necessary technology (cellular phones and pagers, fax
machines, computers with e-mail capability, etc. (Preston, 1991, Stocker, 1997, Allan, 1990).
Keep stakeholders informedand perhaps involved (Sen and Egelhoff, 1991).
Manage the crisis. Stocker (1997) suggests using the 4 Rs: expressing regret for the
incident, indicate what will be done to resolve the issue, indicate reform steps to ensure it will
not happen again, and, in some cases, make restitution.
Recognize that a crisis may exhibit four characteristics: time pressure, control issues, threat
level concerns (threats vary in magnitude and severity), and response-option constraints (there
may be few response options available) (Burnett, 1998).
Adopt communication strategies rather than a policy of silence to resolve the crisis, since
silence may be perceived as an admission of guilt. (Hearit, 1994).
Recast the situation by taking on the role of victim (such as in the case of General Motors
versus Dateline NBC) (Hearit, 1996).
Show credible concern for those injured or killed, as Hitachi Electronic Devices did when five
employees were killed or injured when a tractor-trailer truck ran into a Greenville, South
Carolina, restaurant (Bobo, 1997; Sen and Egelhoff, 1991).
Be quick learners. Organizations must be able to change strategies quickly (Sen and Egelhoff,
1991).
Avoid secrecy, defensiveness, denial, and evasion of responsibility. The Dow Corning breast
implant crisis demonstrated that an organization would be better served if it took
responsibility and acted accordingly (Brinson and Benoit, 1996). Management must show
remorse, apologize, and act immediately and decisively (Benoit, 1995).
Suggested actions to be taken after a crisis are:
Consider post-crisis communications (Katz, 1987).
Evaluate the success of the crisis response effort, using surveys and other feedback
mechanisms (Werner, 1990).
Determine how the organization performed in the crisis. Use the evaluation to set the stage for
the future (Fearn-Banks, 1996).

Seeger, Sellnow and Ulmer suggest that the functions of crisis leadership change during precrisis, crisis, post-crisis stages. For example, in a pre-crisis stage, the leader may establish a positive
image, credibility and reputation and develop important communication processes with stakeholders.
During a crisis, leadership often initiates a response by activating the crisis plan. The leader may
serve as the spokesperson for the organization and identifies resource priorities. The leader may pay
symbolic attention to the crisis and may coordinate linkages with emergency responders and other
groups. The leader frames meaning and facilitates the flow of information. In a post-crisis mode,

IPRRC - 193
leadership may offer explanations or apologies, facilitate investigations, signal a willingness to
change, participate in memorializing and grieving, facilitates learning from the crisis, and creates a
vision for the future (2003, p. 250).
Conclusion
The first phase of this ongoing research centers on the literature review, particularly on
identifying pre-crisis, crisis, and post-crisis activities. Continuing work with build on this initial
framework, develop an assessment tool for evaluating crisis plans in educational settings, analyze
existing crisis plans, and report on accompanying survey research.

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