Business

A crisis is a sudden problem that breaks out of control and comes in a greater magnitude beyond the normal anticipation. The happenings that can be classified as crisis and which normally strike beyond control include highly communicable diseases at a work place or in a social venue, aspects of natural disaster, including floods, winds and wildfire. Other aspects that can be classified as crisis include evacuation from danger spots, workplace violence, and employee crimes. Because a crisis normally strikes when least expected and not a single institution is immune, it is increasingly becoming a matters of great concern with the corporate sector to have a crisis management strategy. The issue of crisis management has drawn wide interest to an extent that institutions of learning are currently offering course in risk management and emergency management that have a very close association with crisis management (TXLA 2009).
    Crisis management requires that a good and effective strategy is developed so that a new crisis does not emerge while attempting to solve one. In order to realize effective crisis management, it is important that fundamental components including effective communication, delegation of responsibility, risk assessment, media communication and placeholder statement are developed. These would work towards ensuring a smooth flow and proper coordination of activities during a crisis (TXLA 2009).
    It is highly important that preparation for a crisis is undertaken because the forces of nature that often lead to crisis can never be prevented. It is even argued that prevention of a crisis is the most important aspect of crisis management. For an organization to be able to respond effectively to a crisis, it is important to put in place a crisis management team that will be responsible for handling the crisis whenever it is to occur. This is very critical because attempting to put in place teams when a crisis has already occurred may lead to furthers damages that could have otherwise been avoided. The crisis management team is very important in an organization because it is this team that will be responsible for the identification of potentially hostile situations and coming up with strategies for managing them successfully. Situations that amount to a crisis differ from one organization to another and it is therefore important that every individual organization organizes its own crisis management team on the basis of their understanding of their possible crisis (Trest et al. 2003).
    This paper analyses into details of the most critical aspects of crisis management, including the crisis management prevention plan, crisis management plan implementation, and crisis management media strategy. The research further goes to recommend to organizations the measures for implementing the crisis management plan and the media strategy. The first part of this paper outlines the steps that were followed in developing this research paper and the main guiding factors. The second part of the paper reviews the works of other authors who have previously addressed this topic. The paper is concluded by making recommendations to organizations on principles of effective crisis management.
Literature Review
 Effective crisis management in organization is highly dependent on the ability of the crisis management team to handle such situations when they occur. As such, the composition of the crisis management team is very important. A good and effective team should be composed of persons who participate in core decision making of the organization with a good knowledge of crisis management. A good understanding of the activities of the organization will be a prerequisite for this team since it is on this basis that they will be able to identify the potentially catastrophic situations to the organization. It is the crisis management team that is capable of identifying the true existence of a crisis. The composition of a crisis management team is dependent on the size of an organization. Small organizations can have the normal management team to double up as the crisis management team. Larger organizations are however opting to constitute a special team of representatives of the core disciplines that would be acting independently in the event of a crisis (Trest et al. 2003).
    Since the composition of crisis management team should reflect the core decision making organs of an organization, it is important that the following departments are represented in the team the risk management department, legal department, facility management, information technology department, financial services department, and human resources department. The other departments that should be represented include real estate management department, corporate security department, and the communications department. The involvement of these critical departments is very important since each segment of an organization should be continually assessed for possible crisis. Once a crisis management team is constituted in an organization, it is important to identify the team leader who will lead it in strategy development. The crisis management team of an organization is charged with the responsibility of developing a written crisis management plan for the organization, delegate responsibility among the team members, coming up with a good plan for communicating crisis related issues and accurate exchange of information. The other responsibilities include the establishment of training schedules for the team and establishment of a crisis culture for the organization that would be useful for a long term (Trest et al. 2003).
    In order for a crisis management team to effectively diagnose the potential crisis aspects to the organization, conducting a threat analysis becomes very essential. The analysis of threat assessment can enable a crisis management team to do an assessment of the environment. This will facilitate the identification of the potential threats and how such threats may impact on the organization. Evaluating the possibility of occurrence of the threats would ensure that they are prioritized and effectively planned for. Once a crisis planning is implemented, it is important to regularly test the effectiveness of the strategy to ensure it complies with response to potential threats. This calls for regular training on crisis management so that a false sense of security is not created in the organization just because a crisis team exists (Trest et al. 2003).
    Development of a crisis plan is very significant towards implementation of crisis management. A good plan should not be very comprehensive and highly detailed because it can not contain all the details necessary in the management of the crisis. The basics for effective action plan should however be addressed within the plan. A crisis management plan should capture issues relating to assessment of potential risks clearly outline the team and the responsibilities of the individual members in the event of a crisis. The step by step action plan and a checklist, the communication plan and a list of key media should be reflected. Details of crisis training, media training, development of material for media information, and preparation of statements for a variety of risk scenarios should be developed and outlined in this plan. Preparation of a crisis management plan is very important to an organization and statistics indicate that organizations that failed to create crisis management plans in advance have always suffered major crisis related setbacks (BNET Editorial 2009).
    Implementation of a crisis management plan becomes critical in the event that a crisis occurs in an organization. In the case of a crisis, it is important first to ensure that an assessment of life safety is undertaken. This should be immediately followed by making available all equipment that may be required for emergency care. It is only after ensuring the first two emergency steps that the top management in the organization, that is normally the head of crisis management team is informed. As a requirement, the head of crisis management is not supposed to be at the crisis scene. Instead, the team leader should remain stationed at a point where it is possible to coordinate the crisis management exercise. The team leader is expected to immediately activate the crisis management team. It would be necessary that the leader dispatches the security team and other trained emergency care representatives. In doing this, the team leaders should strictly follow the guidelines for specific crisis management as contained in the manual. It is important that the crisis area is evacuated and secured to prevent more people from coming into contact with the crisis. The team leader is supposed to implement the notification systems and finally call for back-up from emergency rescue agencies (Kapiolani Community College 2007).
    Communication management is a very essential aspect of crisis management. This is because whenever a crisis occurs, attention of the medial will automatically be drawn. It is therefore important that a good media communication strategy is developed. This calls for the preparation of media communication material to be used for media briefs. It is therefore important to identify the person who will handle media communication and other inquiries. The team member who is identified to handle communication aspects in the event of a crisis should be highly knowledgeable on media issues. The person should also be of senior position within the organization so that that the media briefs may be credible. A crisis communication plan should be guided by the target audience, communication medium to be used, and how the message would be relayed. The communication plan should reflect the contacts with all the stakeholders of the organization (BNET Editorial 2009).
    Preparation of communication material in the event that a crisis occurs is very important in avoiding the creation of a negative image to an organization. This is critical because the media generally do not care about the effects of their reporting on the reputation of an organization. It may not be possible to predict all details relating to the crisis, but a background material should be able to relatively fill in the gap in the crisis story. Preparation of a skeleton document should be able to give a guiding framework for the full development of a complete release when need arises. An organization is able to attract sympathetic responses and very fair press coverage during a crisis if it had created good relationship with the media, its customers and all other stakeholders. (BNET Editorial 2009).
Methodology
In research undertaking, the methodology section is one of the crucial areas to be tackled in a proposal document. This is due to the fact that it forms the basis of the results of research findings. A research can be faced with big challenges due to a wrong choice of the method to be used. Avoiding this good planning of method is essential in order to get reliable results. The issue of reliability establishes that a research should have the ability to show consistency in the results even after a study is done by different researchers repeatedly.   Reliability in research study can also be enhanced through good structure of the methodology. When the correct data collection methods are used, proportional samples are collected and the correct method of analysis is used in a research that can achieve validity.
    The research problem forms the basis of research (Morgan  Smircich 1980, pp. 491-500) and this is where the study should focus on. The methodology can take on either the positivist approach also known as the quantitative, or take the post positivist approach also known as the qualitative approach. The qualitative approach is a more detailed than the quantitative approach as it lays more emphasis on the finer details of the data  and in most cases, it involves a researchers judgment and interpretation. Quantitative approach deals more with quantification like calculating the population sample, population size among others. The choice of the researcher on either the qualitative or the quantitative approach depends on whether the researchstudy is inclined to the natural sciences or the social sciences (Finch 1986, pp.6-10 Easterby-Smith et al. 1991, pp.23-25).
Setting
 This study was conducted at the Dranoff International Two-Piano Foundation. This is a non-profit organization specializing in the promotion of careers of young two-piano artists and their music. This organization that is based in Miami is also involved in student outreach activities.
Data collection methods
 Both secondary and primary data sources will be used. The triangulation method of data collection will involve the use of interviews, literature review and case studies (Zikmund 2003, pp.1-745).The primary data method that will be used is the questionnaire method of data collection. Questionnaires will be distributed among the management organization. There will also be case studies to be conducted for other organizations to know about the crisis management strategies in the other organizations and compare with the ones in Dranoff International Two-Piano Foundation. This will also draw an insight of the various operations of crisis management in other organizations.  There will be use of literature review in order to gather information on crisis management generally. The literature in this research will include research journals, books, articles and sources from university libraries.
The four categories of quality management in research were highly considered. These include validity, reliability, ethics and rigor (Zikmund 2003, p.300). Reliability of a research is its ability to have consistence in results. This will be done on controlling the sample by stratifying the population to get a more representative sample. Validity is the ability of a scale to measure what it is intended to measure but not going beyond the topic of the study. The triangulation method was used to control this aspect in research. Ethics involves adherence to the norms accepted in gathering of information. This will be ensured by providing secrecy on the information collected from the organization. The rigor of the research was directed towards efficient sample size in a critical facet in any investigation. The main purpose a researcher utilizes a sample is to reduce the charges and collect important data faster (Zikmund, 2003).
Data Analysis
 The raw data that was collected using the survey questionnaire was transformed into a body of facts in a suitable format that have been utilized in making informed decisions. This had called for the analysis of the data involving the application of several interrelated procedures intended at summarizing and rearranging the data. For this research, the following analysis procedures were applied. The data was edited for omissions, legibility and consistency.
The data was then coded by assigning the data numerical symbols so as to facilitate efficient computer processing. The data was then entered into the computer from where analysis was done. The triangulation method for data analysis and interpretation was used to interpret the data collected basing arguments on grounded theory. In addition, the information obtained from literature review was analyzed and comparisons were made between the different data sources (Dick 2000 Breitmayer et al. 1991).
Results
 Data for this research was obtained through the use of carefully crafted questionnaire that was sent to the management of the organizations. Some of these organizations had successfully implemented crisis management, some were in the process of implementing crisis management, and the rest were yet to make any move towards crisis management strategies for one reason or the other. Among the organizations that had implemented crisis management strategies, some had achieved positive results while others registered very limited returns. The reason for this variation was attributed to the crisis management strategy adopted.
    Research findings indicated that out of the 20 representatives of organizations, 12 had implemented crisis management strategies, 5 were in the process of implementing crisis management strategies, while 3 considered the process as unnecessary since everything was all right without implementing such strategies. Research findings further indicate that out of the 12 organizations where crisis management had been implemented, 6 organizations admitted achieving positive progress as a result of adopting good crisis management strategy. 4 of these organizations indicated that they were yet to register significant improvement from the crisis management process while 2 organizations indicated that their operations had been negatively affected as a result of implementation of poor crisis management strategies. Research findings indicate that out of the 20 responses that were received, 5 respondents considered crisis management in organizations as very important. 7 respondents viewed crisis management as important though not very much. 5 others were of the opinion that crisis management is something that an organization could do with or without, while 3 respondents did not consider strategic crisis management as anything important.
Discussion
Organizations should implement crisis management in their units. This is because crises are caused by external forces from outside and are not subject to the control of an organization. In addition, crisis is inevitable in businesses in the current world. This is because it is associated by certain inevitable factors like changes in the political system, development of new markets and natural disasters. Therefore, the only way to adapt to such circumstances is to implement crisis management in the organization. Although a successful crisis management is started from top management for an organization to achieve an amicable crisis management strategy all the different staff and stakeholders should be involved. This is not to be an issue that should be left in the hands of the management alone. However, after the procedures for crisis management are drafted, there is a need to use a crisis management team to coordinate the whole process.
Conclusion
As crisis is associated with uncertainties, it is important for organizations to set up crisis management teams and programs that can sensitize the stakeholders about any anticipated crisis. This can be directed more to the employees as they are the most uncertain population in the organization in regard to crisis. Through training the employees earlier, this will prepare them psychologically to accommodate crisis. Abrupt crisis in many occasions brings about confusions in the organizations. It is through effective communication with the media that an organizations corporate image may be protected in the face of a crisis. Training of employees could be a better way to ensure that they are up to standards in the world of crisis management. This will enable the employees adapt to crisis whenever they occur.