Managing a Crisis Using Pr

Managing a Crisis Using PR

I recently completed a simulation entitled, “Managing a Crisis Using PR.” My role during the simulation was that of the Public Relations (PR) Manager for Greenergy. Over the course of the simulation I completed three PR scenarios. As a result of the simulation I have gained a firm understanding of proactive planning and the importance it holds in the success of an organization. In this paper I will analyze the simulation and answer a few questions such as; the definition of proactive planning, the feedback mechanism I developed in the simulation, examples of ineffectual ways of deploying m plan, areas when a proactive crisis management plan is necessary and when and what roles PR plays in reactive crisis management.

Using resources provided in the PR class and the simulation have led me to believe proactive planning can best be described as, the act of developing and modifying a plan using a selection of the appropriate PR tools for the organization. It is crucial for an organization to determine the reasonable risks in an attempt to reduce the possibility of bad things occurring. During the simulation I was advised by the Marketing Manager the areas which were already under control, this left me to concentrate on the areas that still had possibilities of risk. Based on the provided budget I selected the following areas; research team setup plan, media relations plan and a crisis management and communication plan.

During my time as PR manager at Greenergy a rotor blade fell off of a wind turbine; this incident caused injuries to a few members of the public. The Marketing Manager and CEO each confided in me that they wanted the incident to be kept quiet and leaked outside of the company. While their opinion was important to me, I felt it was in the company’s best interest to openly and honestly discuss the incident with employees, stakeholders and the general public. I chose to address the incident by hosting a video news conference facilitated by the CEO in which we provided the details of the situation directly to the public. The result of this action earned credibility from the employees, stakeholders and the general public.

Since time is of the essence in an incident such as the one that occurred in the simulation, I had to quickly relay the information to all the affected publics. In this modern day, I felt that the use of electronic media would be the most efficient way to reach the publics. For this reason I used the company intranet to reach the employees and authorized stakeholders, and the internet for all external publics. While these methods are a good source to address the public they often can’t compete with