Crisis Communication: Principles and Cases 2700-ERASMUS-CCPC

As this course is addressed, preferably, to graduate students interested in crisis communication and public relations, participants should understand the nature of PR and related matters and/or – possibly – could complete relevant classes before.
Students are expected to understand organizational realities in business, the public sector, and NGOs, identify stakeholders and prioritize them to point out potential sources of controversies and disputes between an organization and its publics.
The instructor assumes that students understand major public relations issues and know professional terminology used in industry publications, newsletters, blogs, sites, etc.
The purpose of the course is to present and discuss an overview of recent developments in crisis communication theories and professional practice of the field, with numerous examples and cases of crises from global and local milieus, including current events (mostly from English-speaking countries).
Such a combination of academic and industry perspectives exposes participants to various topics that could raise the interest of aspiring communication consultants, would-be public relations academics, and other students. In addition, the instructor will use – when it is possible and relevant – his peers, his own, and other crisis managers' practical experience from their handling of actual crisis communication (either directly or via web).
Theoretical foundations of crisis communication will be discussed based on recent publications from global literature, research reports, and scientific journals. The list of presented theoretical concepts includes situational crisis communication theory (by W. T. Coombs), rhetorical approach to communication and crisis communication, application of the excellent public relations theory to crisis communication (developed by J. Grunig and F. Marra), image restoration theories (W. Benoit), contingency model and other concepts from scholarly and industry sources. Knowledge of these theories should help students differentiate between a real crisis and other problems, threats, or controversies that organizations must cope with during their everyday operations.
The first part of the course will cover issues handling and risk management, typology of crises in organizations and institutions, their impact on achieving the organizational objectives (in different sectors), identification of threats and sensitive areas, analysis of their influence of reputation, and methods to measure these phenomena.
Another group of subjects will cover available crisis communication strategies, as presented by scholars and practitioners in their scientific publications and communication manuals. Such strategies span from denials and rejecting potential accusations to admitting the organization's guilt and giving up to critics' demands. Theoretical traits will be juxtaposed with practical hints for communication managers, crisis teams, and entire organizations.
The more practical part will deal with developing and implementing a crisis communication plan and manual (and updating it when needed) in a selected organization. Using real-life examples, both generic (typical to most organizations) and the organization's specific aspects of the communication plan and manual will be discussed in detail. Equally practical subjects will include rules of handling media queries during crises, methods of approaching social media, the involvement of public relations consultants and senior managers in day-to-day and strategic operations during crises, the role of internal communication in long-term crisis management, addressing different stakeholders: clients, investors, local communities, environmentalists, activists (also internal ones), and other groups that may put pressure on an organization.
The course will be supplemented by less-discussed areas of litigation public relations, disputes and conflicts in financial communication and investor relations, and other controversies stemming from possible breaching of legal, ethical, and industry regulations.
The course requires students to actively participate in discussions since each class – in addition to presentations of concepts, models, and rules by the instructor – will also contain at least one crisis case (possibly a recent one) to analyze and dissect, using available knowledge and techniques. Thus, during the semester, students should follow selected public relations, crisis management, and communication media, websites, blogs, think tanks, academic centers, and experts to keep themselves updated on new developments in the field.
Such a combination of academic and industry perspectives on crisis communication is meant to expose participants to various topics that could raise the interest of aspiring communication consultants, would-be public relations academics, and other students.
Preliminary list of subjects to be covered during the course:
(1) – introduction to the course and overview of the program; objectives, evaluation and grading methods, assigned literature, and available resources (websites, online journals, professional services and newsletters, book chapters, papers, and articles).
(2) – major theories of crisis communication: situational crisis communication theory (SCCT), rhetorical approach to crisis communication, "excellent" crisis communication, image restoration theory, and other models of crisis communication.
(3) – theory and practice of crisis communication, how-to-handle and advisory books, crisis manuals' overview (by J. Lukaszewski), examples of communication crises (from PRSA's Silver Anvils and other databases).
(4) – typology and classification of crises, issue and risk management, crisis communication as a necessary (but not the sole) element of crisis handling.
(5) – identification of possible threats, analysis of their significance (and media exposure) for an organization, environmental scanning and recognizing sensitive areas, methods of gathering data (interviews, social media, internal activists, etc.).
(6) – different crisis communication strategies: rejecting accusations and attacking critics to surrendering and accepting their demands, application of situational crisis communication theory (SCCT).
(7) – objectives, structure, and parts of a crisis communication plan, its development methods and procedures, and preparation of a crisis manual.
(8) – development of a crisis manual (continued), how to use the script (scenario building) technique, holding statements – exercises.
(9) – crisis manual and its practical application, generic (typical) and specific elements of the crisis manual, dry runs (trainings), and crisis readiness.
(10) – media and social media handling during crises and controversies, organization of a crisis team in different institutions (companies, public sector, NGOs), the role of spokespeople, and external advisors.
(11) – social media in crisis communication (examples), activists as a threat and partners (also inside organizations), labor conflicts: layoffs, redundancies, top managers' exits.
(12) – legal controversies and court disputes in crisis communication (litigation public relations), working with legal advisors, public relations consultants' role in handling suits, business conflicts, etc.
(13) – crisis communication in financial public relations and investor relations (IR), legal requirements in financial communication IR – full disclosure, equal rights for all investors, applicable rules, and examples.
(14) – communication after crises: the need for environmental scanning, building relationships with relevant publics (including former opponents), periodical training, and simulations (with external advisors).
(15) – overview of recent major crises, additional students' presentations, course summary, grading, and adjournment of students.
The instructor reserves the right to adjust the schedule to accommodate students’ interests, requirements, and progress, ongoing business and communication crises, and possible guest appearances.