Conclusion: A Final Look at Crisis Management

To conclude this discussion on crisis management, here is a review of the topics covered;


- Bank of America’s current crisis management and improvements needed
- Background information on crisis management and examples or crisis management using case studies
- Key terms I have defined, pertinent this topic
- An in-depth look at case studies of Southwest Airlines and Verizon
- Commercials of corporate communication at work
- Bank of America's Crisis management plan I have created




This blog’s purpose is to inform the public of corporate communication and the important role it plays within a company, particularly during a crisis. With my research and studying this topic, my intent is to work for Bank of America’s corporate communication’s team in which I will be able to apply my knowledge to real-life setting. Utilizing my knowledge of how other companies have handled their own crises, I can make better informed decisions to help the corporate communication team with their procedures and future communication plans.


Thank you for reading my blog!

Another Look: Corporate Communication at Work

Toyota is another example of a company using a commercial as part of their crisis management tactic.  In early 2010, Toyota received negative attention due to computer malfunction with the acceleration in some models. As people’s lives were in danger, Toyota recalled many of their models and part of their crisis management was advertising their new and improved safety standards. Here is a commercial which shows their attempt to rectify their crisis;

Bank of America Employee Guide to Crisis Management

The crisis management procedure I have created is intended for all employees to know and have access to within the internal site. This plan was created by reviewing crisis management plans from other companies and reviewing how the current Bank of America crisis management plan is implemented. In my current position at Bank of America, I am not working in the corporate communication sector and I work more closely with people who do not understand the importance or significance of corporate communication. This plan is written for the target audience of employees who may not be familiar with corporate communications and crisis management;

 

Preliminary action for employees:

a. Avoid any action(s) that can jeopardize the company’s franchise value – This would include actions comparable to the previously mentioned WikiLeaks scandal. As individuals maintain their own agenda, as an employee at Bank of America, it is important to keep in mind the employee is a representation of the company and maintaining a scandal-free environment can start with the employee to avoid reputational-damaging actions.

b. Review the corporate communication role in crisis management procedure –All employees at Bank of America (not in the corporate communication division) should review the procedure the corporate communication sector will be following. Being aware of what course of actions will follow during a crisis helps in preparedness for all employees at Bank of America to react uniformly.

In the event of a Bank of America crisis, the following procedure for corporate:

a. Immediately address the individuals that are directly impacted from the crisis. Ensure all the facts are known before announcing anything to the press (if the press is necessary) – This action is the first step corporate communications can make to ensure employee assurance is not lost within the midst of the crisis. In the past, Bank of America crises, corporate communications addresses the crisis to employees much after the issue is not in the fore-front which, as a result, lowers employee optimism of Bank of America. This can then directly affect the previously mentioned   Preliminary action for employees. Once employees lose trust for the company, the preliminary action to avoid reputation-damaging actions loses its importance.

b. Ensure Bank of America is the main source of how the press is obtaining their information for coverage – In the previously mentioned Southwest Airline Crisis, their method of addressing the public was through multiple press releases within hours of each other. While a company crisis can vary as to the degree and scope, it is important to realize the media can spin a story anyway to sensationalize the situation. Ensuring Bank of America is the main source of information regarding the crisis; Bank of America controls what goes out to the media. Establishing this policy will also support its image to the public as being honest with the situation at hand.  Providing information to the media, general public and employees helps Bank of America maintain the correct information regarding the crisis. 

c. Provide open communication with parties who want to discuss or question the crisis - Welcoming questions seems risky but answering truthfully, Bank of America will look better in the eyes of the public. This approach is important as it provides employees and media outlets answers to questionable performances of the company. For example, September 2011, Bank of America implemented a five dollar charge to utilize customer’s own debit card. This created an outrage among its customers and after many months of complaints Bank of America lifted this policy in an attempt to restore the previous backlash. Bank of America’s Chief Operating Officer, David Darnell, announced in a press conference “Our customers’ voices are most important to us.  As a result, we are not currently charging the fee and will not be moving forward with any additional plans to do so (Huffington Post).”  Providing interviews and press releases are helpful but a more effective approach would be for Darnell welcoming an open communication forum for employees to have questions answered regarding the issue. This directly correlates with the first procedure, Preliminary action for employees, as employees are a voice of the company which spreads amongst their own acquaintances. Information that is not confidently acknowledged by employees has the potential of creating speculation. Speculation then has the potential of be being communicated to other outside parties, such as families and friends. This can possibly create a damaging representative of the company. 

d. Apologize - This part of the procedure can be utilized when Bank of America has a severely vast and negative impact on employees or the general public in which they did not have control of the situation. If Bank of America is wrong, it is best to come forward and sincerely offer apologizes; the more personal, the better. In this case, sending out a press release of an apology will not be sufficient.  The parties affected need to know that their feelings have been validated.  An apology along with an offer from the company, such as a gift or an incentive, is a start at rectifying the situation. Typically, larger companies, such as Bank of America, send out widely publicized press releases which serve as an encompassing apology to rectify the crisis. This will not be enough when individuals have been directly affected and negatively impacted in a major way. The corporate communication sector of Bank of America will need to resolve the crisis and contact individuals who have been greatly affected by the situation at hand. This tactic serves as reputation building while helping the community with the negative impact Bank of America created.

The Importance of the Public Image

As seen in the below figure, corporate reputation is at the core of business success. The figure shows the external environment (global markets, economic situation, social, technological and  stakeholders) influencing the company’s reputation among their customers. The external environments form customer’s trust with the company which also influences how the company communicates with their customers and the external environments.  

Photo source:  Journal of Product & Brand Management (Omar, Willams, Lingelbach)



If the external environments portray the company in negative way, corporate communication will communicate damage control and image rebuilding.  If the external environments portray the company in a positive way, corporate communication can focus on advertisements and new products and services to promote.

Corporate Communication at Work

British Petroleum, or more commonly known as “BP”, created the following commercial in response to the oil spill in 2010 into the Gulf of Mexico.  This is an example corporate communication's attempt to rectify the situation regarding the company’s image.

Reviewing Case Studies/Information

As previously mentioned, case studies are a wonderful tool to use in trying to understand corporate communication. For my research regarding this topic, I am referencing "The Theory and Practice of Corporate Communication" by Alan T. Belasen. This book references a lot of case studies and covers important topics related to corporate communication.

Southwest Airlines Crisis

Belasen references Southwest Airlines and how they handled their own crisis:

Date: December 8, 2005

What: Flight 1248 veered off the runway killing a 6-year old boy and injuring 11 other people.

How it was handled: Within hours of the crash, Southwest Airlines had released a statement that they were working with the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration. Southwest Airlines employees called the families of the injured individuals to inform them of the incident before releasing names to the press. Shortly after their first press release, Southwest Airlines issued another release with additional information regarding the incident, including contact information if additional information was needed.

End Result: Southwest Airlines had complete control of the situation. By not releasing names until families were called, it avoided the state of panic that families of the victims would have endured. Additionally, releasing two press releases within hours of each other gave Southwest Airlines control as to how its image was portrayed by the media.

Verizon Crisis

Belasen also discusses a case study with Verizon and their crisis:

Date: September 11, 2001

What: The attacks on the World Trade Center’s knocked out many of Verizon’s voice access lines and millions of their data circuits. This left thousands of customers with no service.

How it was handled: the corporate communications team made an effort to keep the public informed regarding the extensive damage to their towers and circuits. A 24-hour press center was opened for this specific crisis and Verizon worked to restore systems as soon as possible so the NYSE would be able to function the following Monday. The CEO of Verizon, Ivan Seidenberg, worked with the communications sector to ensure the employees were fully informed of the crisis. Seidenberg made special trips to the site to inspect scope of the damage to the buildings.

End Result: Verizon’s responsive action to this crisis was well-received by the public and Seidenberg’s actions even received positive news coverage and Verizon looking even better than before regarding their public image.

Read about the Verizon crisis in an article here

Key Terms

This section is a list of terms used throughout this blog. I have created the definition of these terms to better understand the concepts mentioned throughout this blog. Because this proposal is intended for people who are not familiar with corporate communication jargon, the terms and concepts throughout this living document are for a general audience.

Corporate Communication – An area of expertise within a company that focuses on how the image of the company is portrayed to employees, the general public and the media. This encompasses entities such as advertising, public relations, crisis management, newsletters, flyers and commercials.

Crisis Management – an area of corporate communication which focuses on rectifying a situation for a company that has the potential of harming its reputation and is therefore detrimental for shareholders and general profits.

Internal Culture – refers to employees within the corporation and how they identify to their company.  The culture of an organization helps unify the members toward the vision of the company. 

External Image – how the company is portrayed to the media and general public as a result of its reputation. The corporate communication team also plays a role in how the company’s external image is presented to the public. The external image is also formed by the past reputational behavior of the company. This includes how a company handled their past crises and the media’s depiction of it to the public.