Collaborative Crisis Communication Toolkit

...

The Napa Valley Wine Train kicked a group of African-American book club members off after a passenger complained they were laughing too loud. The manager on board the wine train called the police and had the women escorted off the train causing embarrassment to the book club members. The members claimed this act took place because they were African-American. After the story hit social media, the staff then posted on their Facebook page that the staff onboard was physically and verbally assaulted by the women. The CEO later made a statement and admitted that the statement was a lie resulting in a nine million dollar lawsuit. Properly trained staff onboard the train and off could have resolved this differently.

Value to Stakeholders

It is important to remember that stakeholders may vary according to the situation. The stakeholders of Carnival Cruise Lines include the passengers along with the families of those stranded on the Carnival Triumph. The families of those passengers would want to know that their love ones are safe. The employees are also stakeholders with families who are concerned about the safety and wellbeing of the crew aboard the ship. Other stakeholders include the media, customers, investors, and suppliers. Emergency and medical workers would also be stakeholders as they waited to attend to passengers who may have gotten sick on board. The Napa Valley Wine Train stakeholders include passengers, employees, law enforcement, the media, and customers. The story gained momentum through social media that led to worldwide coverage.

In any case, stakeholders place value in organizations that are concerned about the safety and wellbeing of employees, the community, and customers. Every business creates and sometimes destroys value for customers, suppliers, employees, communities and financiers (Freeman, 2013). Stakeholders need truthful and adequate information delivered with empathy and consistent themes. Crisis situations can sometimes strengthen the relationship between the organization and the stakeholders. Slandering customers or victims should never be a part of the plan if the organization places values in its relationships. The Napa Valley Wine Train wrote slanderous claims on their social media page while the CEO of Carnival failed to address stakeholders promptly by waiting five days to make a public statement. These actions led to Carnival Cruise Line replacing its CEO and the owners of the Napa Valley Wine Train selling the business. These actions present an important lesson about timeliness and knowing when and how to say or write the correct message.

Annotated Bibliography

Freeman, E. (2013) Stakeholder management. Retrieved December 17, 2015, from http://redwardfreeman.com/stakeholder-management/

Ed Freeman is a speaker, consultant, and author in the field of stakeholder management. His websites provides links to his work that provide extensive information on how to manage the relationships between stakeholders and organizations. His TEDX talks provided an unconventional approach to how businesses can make a difference in the world.

Business Dictionary (n.d). Stakeholder value approach. Retrieved December 16, 2015, from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/stakeholder-value-approach.html

Business Dictionary helps individuals and students understand important words, concepts, and theories important in business culture. The glossary is updated on a regular basis and covers important topics. The website also provides newsletters, articles, and tips to better understand the world of business.

Non-Profit/Faith Based

Lessons Learned

1) Be transparent

2) Admit to the problem and focus on ways to fix it.

The American Red Cross was put under the magnifying glass when an investigative report alleged shortcomings in the relief aid to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. A well-known Pastor is once again in the spotlight after a Ponzi scheme resulted in church members losing money. These are some of the unpleasant situations that plague nonprofit organizations. In both of these situations transparency seemed to be the issue. The media accused the American Red Cross of lacking transparency while Bishop Eddie Long failed to admit that his members were involved in a Ponzi scheme.

The American Red Cross did post a statement on their website about the allegations of mismanaged funds. They also provided a Q&A sheet answering some of the questions about the funding and the success the organization has had in aiding Haiti. Perhaps by providing pictures on social media and their website along with victim testimonials may help restore a more positive perception of their efforts.

Bishop Eddie Long is no stranger to negative press. After battling accusations of sexual abuse, he continues to receive bad press. Experience demonstrates that extraordinary reputation damage is within the controlling power of the troubled organization, but only if the leadership of that organization chooses to behave and speak appropriately and promptly (Lukaszewski & Noakes, 2013). Bishop Eddie Long refused to admit any wrongdoing and according to former church members, those involved were treated like outcast. Bishop Long's behavior led to a lawsuit being filed and won by former church members. In crisis communications, we aim to keep the crisis out of the criminal justice system.

Value to Stakeholder

According to Know How nonprofit key stakeholders are essential to a nonprofit business success. A variety of people and entities have an interest in seeing a nonprofit succeed because it may influence their services or individual need (Hawthorne, n.d). In a nonprofit organization, internal stakeholders are those who have already committed to serving the organization. This includes board members, volunteers, donors, and employees. External stakeholders represent those who are impacted in some way by the organization. Clients, community leaders, and vendors provide an example of external stakeholders.

During a crisis, both internal and external stakeholders can matter to an organization. An employee of the organization can often be your most important audience member because an employee can become a PR representative and crisis manager whether you want them to be or not. Nonprofit organizations are in the business of compassion. As a result, it is important that the representatives of the company show compassion. It is our job to make sure that both