Importance of Crisis Management Plan in Organizations Research Paper

Importance of Crisis Management Plan in Organizations - Research Paper Example Some common examples are threat of bankruptcy, computer system failure, a big industrial accident, defect of a manufactured product and its recall, sudden fall in the sales and so on. In fact, the senior management of an organization is the most affected when there is a crisis. It is for the management to ensure that suitable people are arranged in a proper fashion to deal with major problems that could affect the organization. In addition, it is necessary to ensure that even the crisis management plan reflects the company’s core values. Also, there should be properly defined methods to communicate with various stakeholders including clients and shareholders during a crisis. Admittedly, organizations can considerably improve their readiness to face crises by testing the methodologies they have developed. First of all, a suitable crisis management plan can make an organization strong enough to withstand potential threats and secondly, awareness about possible threats makes the organization able to take early action, thus resulting in reduced damages. Also, the development of a suitable crisis management plan will give the organization an upper hand over other poorly-prepared competitors. Moreover, effective communication at the time of crisis will make the public realize how the core values and beliefs helped the organization overcome the challenges, thus giving it a better public image. Some other benefits are that the plan restores critical business processes and systems in less time, reduces the length of the interruption process, minimizes reputation damage, maintains customer relations, protects assets, saves lives and reduces the chances for further injuries. The Action Checklist of Crisis Management The first step in crisis management involves developing an overall crisis management plan that does not significantly vary from the organization’s core values and beliefs. Thereafter, it is necessary to develop a crisis management team structure and define the roles and responsibilities of each personnel. In addition, it is necessary to define the lines of authority as absence of this may result in communication anarchies. Also, it is vital to ensure that during a crisis, appropriate action is taken to communicate with stakeholders. Lastly, it is vital to connect the crisis management with business recovery program. The purpose of crisis management Effective management of a crisis involves prevention, planning, testing, evaluation and maintenance. However, when a crisis management plan is developed, it is necessary to ensure that the plan restores critical business processes and systems, reduces the length of the interruption process, minimizes reputation damage, maintains customer relations, protects assets, saves lives and reduces the chances for further injuries. The planning process Successful crisis management involves planning, testing, evaluation and maintenance. In fact, successful risk management is a mix of sound organizational practices and the use of basic safety-related technology. So, the first stage is enhancing security to avoid the possibility of unintentional events. In order to identify the possible crises, it is necessary for organizations to develop a vulnerability assessment process. This will help the organization identify the probable threats and the need to make necessary changes. When assessment is conducted, it is necessary to include warning signs because before certain crisis, there is the possibility of certain warning signs. For example, erratic employee behavior can be the indication of a