Communicating in Crisis

A concise theoretical formulation and a practical guide to managing the crises that corporate and other enterprises inevitably face. It provides an analysis of the field and a step-by-step approach to preventing full-scale, uncontainable disasters and corporate relations fiascoes, from which companies may never recover. The book is based on a wide range of examples and case studies, including an alleged worm infestation of McDonald's hamburgers and the worldwide recall by Perrier's of 160 million bottles of mineral water when word spread that the product had been contaminated by a toxic compound. For every instance cited, an appropriate communications strategy is suggested that would gain public trust and support, as well as keep business going. In addition to product use, the authors discuss industrial and institutional crises and the kinds of endemic panic to which enterprises are subject.