Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Crisis Management Trends...
This is the final chapter in our book! We have successfully planned how to best avoid and tackle a crisis if Tiffany & Co. were to encounter one. The last chapter wraps up the whole book and discusses trends in Crisis Management.
As the development of the landscape theory continues a theme we will see internally is that organizations will begin to increase the amount of planning they put into crisis management. Crisis will not be seen as much externally as they will affect the organization on the inside as a whole. The victims of crisis are going to becoming more and more public and will be seen as major stakeholders for the organization at the time of the crisis and the stakeholders will lose more and more trust in the organization.
As organizations strategically plan for a crisis in the future the crisis management plans are going to be primarily electronic based and it will be an ongoing process for the organization. Externally crisis management teams will be interacting with more than just those involved in their own organization. We will see a lot of collaboration amongst separate teams and stakeholders.
When the crisis finally hits in the future the main way to communicate with the public will be through the organizations website. Externally as the internet continues to grow it will have much more of an impact on the outcome of a crisis whether positive or negative. The public can communicate with each other much easier now thanks to social media, this could be either good or bad for organizations.
Organizations will continue to try and learn from a crisis after it hits and it is encouraged to research both internally and externally. An organization should really try to get feedback from as many people as possible including those affected and not affected by the crisis, this way they can learn from mistakes and how they can avoid this from happening again.
In conclusion, as you have seen throughout my blog, Tiffany & Co. is not an organization that has dealt with a majorly known crisis in the past. Hopefully with the help of my blog and research if there were something to happen Tiffany & Co. would be able to avoid it or deal with it in a successful manner.
As the development of the landscape theory continues a theme we will see internally is that organizations will begin to increase the amount of planning they put into crisis management. Crisis will not be seen as much externally as they will affect the organization on the inside as a whole. The victims of crisis are going to becoming more and more public and will be seen as major stakeholders for the organization at the time of the crisis and the stakeholders will lose more and more trust in the organization.
As organizations strategically plan for a crisis in the future the crisis management plans are going to be primarily electronic based and it will be an ongoing process for the organization. Externally crisis management teams will be interacting with more than just those involved in their own organization. We will see a lot of collaboration amongst separate teams and stakeholders.
When the crisis finally hits in the future the main way to communicate with the public will be through the organizations website. Externally as the internet continues to grow it will have much more of an impact on the outcome of a crisis whether positive or negative. The public can communicate with each other much easier now thanks to social media, this could be either good or bad for organizations.
Organizations will continue to try and learn from a crisis after it hits and it is encouraged to research both internally and externally. An organization should really try to get feedback from as many people as possible including those affected and not affected by the crisis, this way they can learn from mistakes and how they can avoid this from happening again.
In conclusion, as you have seen throughout my blog, Tiffany & Co. is not an organization that has dealt with a majorly known crisis in the past. Hopefully with the help of my blog and research if there were something to happen Tiffany & Co. would be able to avoid it or deal with it in a successful manner.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Chaos Theory!
This week in our Crisis Communications class we are learning about the Chaos Theory. The chaos theory is a mathematical and physics theory but our book teaches it to those people that are not familiar with those disciplines. The chaos theory is often used to analyze crisis. With our book being focused on how all the different stages of a crisis, it is necessary to familiarize us with analyzing the crisis using the chaos theory.
This theory helps you to find the clear cause of a crisis. Our book states that a chaos is a time whereby when something happens such as a crisis it actually follows an unknown or hidden pattern. Although Tiffany & Co. is not known for dealing with many crises at all, if they were to encounter a crisis they could use the steps that go along with the Chaos theory. Chaotic systems have two main characteristics, Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions and Unpredictability in the Long Run. Stated simply the sensitive dependence on initial conditions occurs when a slight change in any initial condition can lead to a completely different outcome in the system, which eventually led to the crisis. Unpredictability in the long run is when chaos in the long term cannot be predicted although it is possible in the short term.
When a crisis hits many would claim it to be complete chaos when in fact this is usually not the case. Chaos is a system of events rather than one single event. Crises are usually just one single event they will lead to certain after effects but this would not be chaos if it is a single event. There are five components of the Chaos theory which includes Bifurcations, Attractors, Nonlinearity, Feedback, and Self-Organization. When dealing with a crisis Bifurcations can be seen as the defining moments in the span of a crisis. An attractor can be related to the cause of the crisis. It is very rare that one event causes a crisis many different events or attractors can be linked as the cause. Nonlinear can be explained in a crisis sense that not all things happen in a cause and effect instance. One would never know but a small event may have a major impact on the crisis and vice-versa. Feedback can result in both negative and positive effects. Self- organization relates to the way a company handles a situation after the end of the crisis. It has to do with what needs to be changed within the company and what has been or needs to be changed externally.
This theory helps you to find the clear cause of a crisis. Our book states that a chaos is a time whereby when something happens such as a crisis it actually follows an unknown or hidden pattern. Although Tiffany & Co. is not known for dealing with many crises at all, if they were to encounter a crisis they could use the steps that go along with the Chaos theory. Chaotic systems have two main characteristics, Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions and Unpredictability in the Long Run. Stated simply the sensitive dependence on initial conditions occurs when a slight change in any initial condition can lead to a completely different outcome in the system, which eventually led to the crisis. Unpredictability in the long run is when chaos in the long term cannot be predicted although it is possible in the short term.
When a crisis hits many would claim it to be complete chaos when in fact this is usually not the case. Chaos is a system of events rather than one single event. Crises are usually just one single event they will lead to certain after effects but this would not be chaos if it is a single event. There are five components of the Chaos theory which includes Bifurcations, Attractors, Nonlinearity, Feedback, and Self-Organization. When dealing with a crisis Bifurcations can be seen as the defining moments in the span of a crisis. An attractor can be related to the cause of the crisis. It is very rare that one event causes a crisis many different events or attractors can be linked as the cause. Nonlinear can be explained in a crisis sense that not all things happen in a cause and effect instance. One would never know but a small event may have a major impact on the crisis and vice-versa. Feedback can result in both negative and positive effects. Self- organization relates to the way a company handles a situation after the end of the crisis. It has to do with what needs to be changed within the company and what has been or needs to be changed externally.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Ethics!
This week in our Crisis Communication class we are studying business ethics. With Tiffany & Co. being an internationally well known business they have a lot of responsibilities to fulfill. Tiffany & Co. has something called a corporate social responsibility (CSR). This is composed of economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities. In order to fulfill the economic part of the CSR they must maximize their revenues while cutting expenses and maximizing their profits. By doing this they will increase their shareholders wealth. They must abide by the law, by keeping up to date with all regulations and industry standards. A major issue for Tiffany & Co. would be to make sure that they are involved in ethical practices. With all the mining that must be done in order to offer their customers with the best products they should make sure they are not involved in any suspicious behavior. One thing I have noticed with Tiffany & Co. is that they definitely fulfill their fair share of Philanthropies. They are constantly involved with charities and benefits, whether it is them sponsoring a benefit or donating to an auction there is often news releases about their involvement.
There is something called the Landscape Survey. This survey looks for clues in the organization’s internal and external environment for anything that may be unethical. The first and most important place to look at in an organization is the board of directors. The founder of the organization has a major role in the ethics that goes on within a company. They then look into whether or not the company is running safe and the environment they are providing for both employees and customers. They also look into the company’s economic motives and lastly they see how vulnerable the organization is in the chosen industry. In order for an organization to avoid an ethical crisis they must abide by all government standards. For a company like Tiffany & Co. they would have to make sure they are practicing environmentally friendly manufacturing. They must also be up to date on all industry standards.
If an organization does encounter an ethical crisis they need to be ready to accept that some people will lose trust in them. Although this is often the case an organization should always be ready to answer questions about whatever crisis they are confronted with. If they can give their shareholders, customers, and employees a clear explanation it can help with any further damage that may be a result of the crisis.
There is something called the Landscape Survey. This survey looks for clues in the organization’s internal and external environment for anything that may be unethical. The first and most important place to look at in an organization is the board of directors. The founder of the organization has a major role in the ethics that goes on within a company. They then look into whether or not the company is running safe and the environment they are providing for both employees and customers. They also look into the company’s economic motives and lastly they see how vulnerable the organization is in the chosen industry. In order for an organization to avoid an ethical crisis they must abide by all government standards. For a company like Tiffany & Co. they would have to make sure they are practicing environmentally friendly manufacturing. They must also be up to date on all industry standards.
If an organization does encounter an ethical crisis they need to be ready to accept that some people will lose trust in them. Although this is often the case an organization should always be ready to answer questions about whatever crisis they are confronted with. If they can give their shareholders, customers, and employees a clear explanation it can help with any further damage that may be a result of the crisis.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Organizational Learning!
Most people look at a crisis as a very negative event. Although many crises do end with a few or possibly a lot of bad outcomes, some if not all crises can teach an organization many things. Once a crisis is completely over there is actually still more work to be done. This may be the most important part of a crisis; this is known as the learning phase. Here the organization, such as Tiffany & Co., must evaluate the crisis and anything that could have been changed during the events of the crisis as well as what needs to be changed in the organization overall. In order to make sure future crisis will be handled to the best of the organizations ability the crisis management plans need to be altered in some ways by what is learned from the previous crisis.
When it comes to Tiffany & Co. I have mentioned several times they have not dealt with any major crisis, at least not recently or publicly. This could mean one of two things for Tiffany’s they may have learned from smaller crisis in the past or possibly they have just been fully prepared and paid close attention to warning signs. For an organization like Tiffany & Co. if a crisis were to occur they have such a large worldwide corporation they would definitely have a lot of research to do at the closure of the crisis to see how it was handled in the many different branches of their organization.
In order for an organization to be completely ready and aware of a crisis they must constantly be developing new ideas on how to adapt to the current lifestyle of not only their customers but the entire world. An organization must be constantly learning what is going on around them, with their customers, their employees, and the organization as a whole. If an organization does not keep up with their surroundings they will never be able to survive a future crisis. Organizational learning should be a constant for all of those involved in the organization anyone from the CEO to an everyday employee. A company like Tiffany & Co. is very popular and so well known for their premier jewelry that they need to be informed about what is going on around them to make sure they can keep their positive reputation.
When it comes to Tiffany & Co. I have mentioned several times they have not dealt with any major crisis, at least not recently or publicly. This could mean one of two things for Tiffany’s they may have learned from smaller crisis in the past or possibly they have just been fully prepared and paid close attention to warning signs. For an organization like Tiffany & Co. if a crisis were to occur they have such a large worldwide corporation they would definitely have a lot of research to do at the closure of the crisis to see how it was handled in the many different branches of their organization.
In order for an organization to be completely ready and aware of a crisis they must constantly be developing new ideas on how to adapt to the current lifestyle of not only their customers but the entire world. An organization must be constantly learning what is going on around them, with their customers, their employees, and the organization as a whole. If an organization does not keep up with their surroundings they will never be able to survive a future crisis. Organizational learning should be a constant for all of those involved in the organization anyone from the CEO to an everyday employee. A company like Tiffany & Co. is very popular and so well known for their premier jewelry that they need to be informed about what is going on around them to make sure they can keep their positive reputation.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Crisis Communication!
What’s Next?! The crisis has hit Tiffany & Co. now what do we do? It is good that we have already put together not only a crisis management team but also a number of different crisis management plans. We have made a number of plans for many different families of crisis and thankfully we now can handle our crisis in a somewhat organized manner.
The first step for us to do is to communicate with our internal stakeholders this would be anyone from the owners to the managers and employees of those stores involved. We must keep them all on track with what is going on within the company and with the crisis itself. It is very important that we have a command center set up so that when any questions arise it is very easy to contact those in charge, with letting all the internal stakeholders know where the command center is is very important. Having the general employees informed about the crisis is also essential because they are always in the spotlight. They will be some of the first people that will have questions asked to them and they need know how to answer or if to answer these questions at all.
When dealing with our external environment we must first designate the spokesperson that will be the main contact for this particular crisis. Three main externals we need to deal with would be our customers, the news media, and the internet. We want our customers to be well informed about what is going on so that they do not have to make up stories in their head about what is actually happening. It is best to always communicate with the media is quick as possible so that they do not mix the story up and make the crisis worse than it actually is. When the media asks a question we always need to be ready to respond. The internet is very important as well because the internet is a main source of information for a large amount of customers. Negative information on the internet will spread quicker anything. That being said the internet needs to be monitored extremely closely.
After the crisis is over and all the stakeholders are well informed it is necessary to conduct the post crisis analysis. Here we can finally see how the crisis was dealt with and if it was dealt with in a positive way. We must decide if the outcome of the crisis could have been less damaging then it resulted in or if the results are of good standing. After evaluating this we can decide what needs to be changed for next time.
The first step for us to do is to communicate with our internal stakeholders this would be anyone from the owners to the managers and employees of those stores involved. We must keep them all on track with what is going on within the company and with the crisis itself. It is very important that we have a command center set up so that when any questions arise it is very easy to contact those in charge, with letting all the internal stakeholders know where the command center is is very important. Having the general employees informed about the crisis is also essential because they are always in the spotlight. They will be some of the first people that will have questions asked to them and they need know how to answer or if to answer these questions at all.
When dealing with our external environment we must first designate the spokesperson that will be the main contact for this particular crisis. Three main externals we need to deal with would be our customers, the news media, and the internet. We want our customers to be well informed about what is going on so that they do not have to make up stories in their head about what is actually happening. It is best to always communicate with the media is quick as possible so that they do not mix the story up and make the crisis worse than it actually is. When the media asks a question we always need to be ready to respond. The internet is very important as well because the internet is a main source of information for a large amount of customers. Negative information on the internet will spread quicker anything. That being said the internet needs to be monitored extremely closely.
After the crisis is over and all the stakeholders are well informed it is necessary to conduct the post crisis analysis. Here we can finally see how the crisis was dealt with and if it was dealt with in a positive way. We must decide if the outcome of the crisis could have been less damaging then it resulted in or if the results are of good standing. After evaluating this we can decide what needs to be changed for next time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)