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Execs
to blame for crises yet again
Issued
by: Crisis Communications Consultancy - 14
Mar 2007 15:50
Reproduced with
permission of the author:
Author:
Evan Bloom
Managing Director
Crisis Communications Consultancy
http://www.crisiscomms.com
02 May 2007
Back to ... Workinfo.com Human Resources Magazine Volume 1 Issue
8, 2007
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Execs to blame for crises yet again
Issued
by: Crisis Communications Consultancy
Management were once again to blame for most crises that
occurred during the last quarter of 2006 and most of those
tracked during this three-month period had their roots
inside organisations and companies. This is according to
the Crisis Communications Consultancy which has announced
the results of its analysis of business and social issues
for the fourth quarter of 2006.
The Crisis Communications Consultancy identified a total of
47 crises during this period. Of these, 33 or 70.2%
originated within organisations and companies, while 29.8%
or the remaining 14 crises had their origins externally.
“Our research shows that management were responsible for
53.2% of all crises, employees 17% and external factors
29.8%,” says Evan Bloom, MD of Crisis Communications
Consultancy. “Based on the previous quarter, things have
not improved and this is cause for concern.”
In comparison, during the third quarter of 2006, the Crisis
Communications Consultancy identified 43 crises. 67% of
these had their origins within companies and organisations,
while 33% originated externally. Of the internal crises, 30%
were caused by management and 37% by employees.
“Two consistent trends prevail in analysis of the crises
and how companies and organisations deal with them,” adds
Bloom. “Most companies and organisations are ill-prepared
to manage a crisis and actually communicate extensively with
the media. Getting the basics right, like having a crisis
plan and retaining a PR consultancy to communicate
effectively and consistently long before a crisis happens,
goes a long way.”
Over the last quarter of 2006, government faced the most
crises while the private sector came in second.
In October there were 13 crises. 11 originated internally,
management were responsible for 10, and employees for one.
There were also two crises that had their origins externally
to the organisations concerned. During this month national
government faced six crises and provincial/local government
dealt with two.
Top of mind during this time were the allegations of tender
irregularities to the value of R100 million in the Gauteng
Department of Housing, the allegations that a blacklist
exists at the SABC identifying editorial commentators who
are critical of the government, and the allegations of
mismanagement of the forensic science laboratories in South
Africa. Other crises included the Carletonville mining
accident and legal issues within FABCOS.
In November there were 23 crises. Nine of these originated
externally and 14 internally; management was responsible for
eight of these and employees for six. Again national
government contributed the biggest number of crises in this
month with business contributing four and provincial/local
government two.
Top of mind crises during this month were the jet fuel leak
at OR Tambo International Airport, the escape of Annanias
Mathe from Pretoria’s C-Max prison, and the social
security fraud in the department of Social Development
involving 400 000 members of the public and 43 705 members
of staff. Allegations against Jackie Selebi due to his
relationship with Glen Agliotti and the allegations of
sexual harassment against the ANC’s parliamentary chief
whip, Mbulelo Goniwe, also featured strongly.
In December 2006 there were 11 crises, with seven involving
management, one employees and three external forces.
National government had the most crises during this month,
totalling three. The media focused strongly on Robert
McBride’s car accident which took place while he was
allegedly under the influence.
Additional Information
The report is derived from analysing print media articles in
South Africa's leading business daily and weekly
publications that cover news events that affect business,
politics and civil society.
The data gathered is analysed and catalogued according to a
specialised classification system developed by the Crisis
Communications Consultancy. The system identifies
thirty-five different crises types that could affect thirty
different industry sectors.
A core part of the specialised classification system was the
ability to follow a crisis from its formative stage until it
became a full blown crisis.
For further information please refer to the Crisis
Communications Consultancy website http://www.crisiscomms.com
For further information:
Crisis Communications Consultancy: www.crisiscomms.com
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Evan
Bloom
is the managing director of the Crisis Communications
Consultancy, a company that specialises in crisis management,
planning and training. The Crisis Communications Consultancy is
rapidly gaining a reputation as a leader in the field of crisis
and issues management, particularly in the areas of vulnerability
auditing, crisis planning and training. In addition to owning the
Crisis Communications Consultancy, Evan also owns Strategy One
Communications, a strategic PR consultancy that specialises in
business to business PR.
The
Author:
Evan
Bloom has worked at
some of
South Africa’s leading PR consultancies and has worked in PR overseas in
Kenya. He has worked on some of South Africa
and Africa’s biggest PR projects and also has extensive experience on
global PR projects and events. From a crisis perspective, Evan has
led counsel on the following crisis types: inaccurate media
reporting, shareholder activism, environmental issues, airline
incidences, product perception issues, labour relations and
strikes, mergers and acquisitions, legal and crisis management
integration with business continuity for global events. Evan
is regularly interviewed on TV and radio and is often quoted in
the print media. The Crisis Communications Consultancy is
the first local company to issue crisis management reports issued
on a quarterly basis. In addition, Evan also conducts crisis
management training at companies and for seminars and workshops. Evan has a BA and a BA Honours degree in communications from
UNISA and a MA in Communications with a specialty in PR and crisis
management from RAU, now renamed University
of Johannesburg. He has received advanced crisis management training in the
United States of America
and in England. Contact him at info@crisiscomms.com.
Summary
Management leads the field for causing organisational crises for
the last quarter of 2006.
Keywords
and related phrases
Communication, crises, crisis management, employee, management,
media, Public Relations, PR, government, private sector.
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