Crisis Management

Posted: October 17th, 2013

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Crisis Management

Part A

            Effective means achieving the objectives or targets. It is the ability to make something happen as planned. For instance, a manger who meets the targets through his or her subject is effective. Critical thinking is taking time to analyze and evaluate a thought using the information gathered. It could be information from experience, facts or from observing. A decision is made afterwards. Imminent refers to something that is about to happen. For example, there is an imminent attack in the city. It means there is an attack that will take place soon in the city. Systematic means doing something in a specific way. It could be according to a plan or a certain methodology. Policies are principles or rules meant to guide people. They mostly help in decision making and hoe people should conduct themselves. A country’s policies are called laws (Boin, 94).

Procedure is a mannerism of doing something. It involves a fixed plan used in carrying out an action. The plan includes several steps to follow. Business continuity is defined as the search for any risks the organization might be facing. When they are identified, the management formulates counter measures. ABN means Australian Business Number. It helps the tax collectors to identify all the businesses. ABN also helps the governments to identify these business in case its needs to do business with them. ACN is an acronym for American Communication Network. It is an Incorporation, which provides telecommunication. It provides services like television and energy via a network (Elliot et al, 73). Contract laws are the rules set to govern making contracts. A contract is binding document containing an agreement of two parties. An issue tracking is a system used to keep a record of issues for an organization. They are common with the customer care department. They help in keeping issues from the customers (Deming, 103).

Question 1

A crisis is a dangerous or unstable situation whereas an issue is a matter of disagreement. For example, there could be an economic, social or political. Two people are having a land dispute and they have gone to court. This is seen as an issue (Fink, 22).

Question 2

The five organizations to consider are emergency, safety, strategic planning, insurance company, and disaster management organizations. Emergency and safety organizations will offer advice on safety measures and what to do when there is a crisis. Strategic planning will help in determining how the plan will be. The 9insurance company will offer advice on taking insurance covers to avoid financial losses. Disaster managements will help in identifying possible risks, which may cause crisis (LittleJohn, 56).

 Question 3

A crisis management plan should include possible threats likely to cause crisis. It should have guidelines on what to do when there is crisis. These guidelines should describe how to respond specifically to every threat. The document should also include some objectives. This document should be given to the officer in charge of security and crisis management. The layout should begin with the objectives, possible risks and the guidelines (Harvard business school, 145).

Question 4

The pieces of information should be explaining unclear points to them, talk about the objective of the plan, inform them where all relevant equipment will be found. Emphasize on them being alert, tell them to consider training people on how to respond during crisis. Advice them to review the plan, and address any loopholes. They should make sure they understand the plan. Points to consider when communicating information are means, the words to use, language and clarity (Gross, 200).

Question 5

The first format is checking whether the organization has adequate facilities and equipment to counter any crisis. Another format is staging a situation of a crisis and observing how people would respond to the crisis. They should respond according to the crisis management plan (Gupta, 91).

Question 6     

The ten items will be chosen because they are the most fundamental. The items will definitely be equipment needed to run the center. Without these items it would not be possible to start the center. Therefore, the chosen ten items have to be there. Other items will be brought later when it is convenient (Pearson, 84).

Question 7     

A team of response to the media should include an officer in the emergency and security department, a personal assistant and the PR officer. Some of the duties would include preparing media reports, which would be done by the personal assistant. The PR officer will determine what the report will contain. Emergency officer will provide information on the ground for the report (Regester, 143).

Question 8     

Monitoring the media is important because it will keep the organization updated. Employees will know about the current affairs, especially in the field of crisis management. They can get ideas of improving the crisis management plan. It would also help them to identify new possible risks and include them in the plan (Cleghorn, 115).

Question 9 Questionnaire

What do you think should be included in the plan?

How do you suggest the plan should be adjusted?

What equipment should be added to counter crisis?

Do you think the organization members are ready to respond to a crisis?

Suggest how the emergency department can be improved

Do you think the crisis management department is being well managed?

Are there any potential risks, which have not been included in the plan?

Suggest how the media should be handled in regards to the crisis management plan

As an individual, do you think you have the ability to respond well to a crisis?

Is there need for training about the crisis management plan?

Question 10   

Ethics and legal requirements will definitely affect the crisis management plan. For example, if the law requires organizations to further measure in countering crisis, there has to be change on the plan. The changes will be made in accordance with the law requirements. It could mean adding more equipment or intensifying training for all members of the organizations. If the plan does not meet the ethics requirements, it has to be adjusted accordingly. For example, ethics might demand no smoking in public places. The plan must show a guideline, which states there should be signs forbidding smoking. Organizations must adjust their plans in accordance to law and ethics (Boin, 156).

Part B

Overview

In December 2010, there was a series of floods that mainly affected the state of Queensland. The floods displaced more than two hundred thousand people. Not less than seventy towns were declared a disastrous zone. The rivers that recorded the greatest flooding were Fitzroy and Burnett rivers. This brought a great impact on the nearby communities. Funds were provided to support the victims through the help of the defense force. A recovery team was formed. It was to reconstruct as the investigation of the floods went on (Bevan, 21).

Economic impact

The floods cause damages of over a billion dollars. The costs were about ten million. The economy of the state deteriorated than before. Businesses were destroyed and destroyed and many towns were not inhabitable for a while. Globally, the business performance had dropped significantly because of the catastrophe. The state used a lot of funds to recover the damages hence, a negative effect to the economy (Office of Queensland, chief assistant, 67).

Impact on Productivity  

            Productivity was reduced by a big gap because many businesses were destroyed by the floods. When people were forced to evacuate, they could not continue with their economic activities. It too sometime before production began. Some businesses were not revived because the premises were destroyed and they were not put up again (Cleghorn, 55).

Social impact

People lost their homes and they had to look for shelter in other places. They lost their property, which could be difficult to recover. Infrastructure was destroyed by the floods. Coal rail way lines had to be closed down. This also led to the closure of the mines since they were affected by floods. There was no salt for swimming pools. The mines had to be shut down after the floods. Milk production had to go to waste because there was no transport for it to be sold out. There was food shortage after the supplying outlets were swept away by the floods (Office of Queensland, chief assistant, 67).

Financial impact

            The crisis on finances was because of the paralyzed economy and the state had to fund the victims. Australia’s GDP is approximately thirty billion dollars. After the catastrophe, this figure reduced significantly. The state of Queensland reduced its revenue because most of the towns were not economically active (Bevan, 45).

References:

Alvintzi, Patrick, and Hannes Eder. Crisis Management. New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2010. Print.

Bevan, Scott. Flood: Stories and Images of Survival, Loss and Courage from the Queensland Floods. Pymble, N.S.W: ABC Books, a division of HarperCollins Australia, 2011. Print.

Boin, Arjen. Crisis Management. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, 2008. Print.

Cleghorn, Jodi. 100 Stories for Queensland: In Aid of the Survivors of the Queensland Floods. Brisbane: eMergent Pub, 2011. Print.

Deming, W E. Out of the Crisis. Cambridge, Mass: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for Advanced Engineering Study, 1986. Print.

Elliott, Dominic, Ethné Swartz, and Brahim Herbane. Business Continuity Management: A Crisis

Littlejohn, Robert F. Crisis Management: A Team Approach. New York, N.Y: AMA Membership Publications Division, American Management Associations, 1983. Print.

Management Approach. London: Routledge, 2002. Print.

Fink, Steven. Crisis Management: Planning for the Inevitable. New York, NY: American Management Association, 1986. Print.

Harvard business school. Crisis Management. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School, 2004. Print.

Gross, Eva. The Europeanization of National Foreign Policy: Continuity and Change in European Crisis Management. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. Print.

Gupta, M P. Crisis Management. New Delhi: Maxford Books, 2006. Print.

Office of the Queensland Chief Scientist. Understanding Floods: Questions & Answers.  Brisbane: Conference publication. 2011. Print.

Pearson, Christine M, Christophe Roux-Dufort, and Judith Clair. International Handbook of Organizational Crisis Management. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2007. Print.

Regester, Michael. Crisis Management. Business Books, 1989. Print.