Semester 1, 2022 Welcome to 219.312 Risk and Crisis Communication Issue Management & Crisis Management HOW DO ISSUE MANAGEMENT AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT DIFFER? “Issue Management is about steering the ship out of troubled waters, while Crisis Management is about saving the ship AFTER it has struck an iceberg” THAT’S ISSUE MANAGEMENT You are driving along scanning the road three or four cars ahead. You see that cars in front are swerving to avoid an oil spill and you take positive action to avoid it. THAT’S EMERGENCY RESPONSE You are driving down the road and the car ahead stops suddenly. You slam on the brakes to avoid a collision. THAT’S CRISIS MANAGEMENT You hit the oil spill and your car slides into a tree and catches fire. The car doors are jammed shut, so you use the fire extinguisher to smash the windows and escape. WHEN DID ISSUE MANAGEMENT BEGIN? 1976 with Howard Chase and Barry Jones Activist and NGO pressure on public policy in the US was seen as increasingly influencing the direction of public policy which often impacted directly on the way corporations were able to operate Traditional lobbying was no longer sufficient to counter the broader groundswell of community and activist concerns The early advocates of issue management did not see it as a way to overpower opponents or to exert undue influence. Their stated objective was to have a fair share of the debate and to be ‘co - equal’ in the formation of public policy. NOT JUST FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS... Issue management is not just an activity for PR and communication professionals Communicators often own the process and can play key roles in strategy and implementation However, effective issue management requires involvement and support of leaders across many functions and departments to deliver the organisation’s strategy and to develop and safeguard its good name. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO MANAGE AN ISSUE? Issue management is “a coordinated, cross - functional effort to identify, prioritise, and actively manage towards resolution those developments that most impact the organisation and where there is a capacity to make a difference” ( Jaques , 2014, p. 8). Resolution – from who’s perspective? What would a resolved issue look like? ISSUE MANAGEMENT – RULE OF FIVE Issue identification Analysis & Prioritization Strategy options Action plans Evaluation WHAT IS CRISIS MANAGEMENT? Involves both strategic crisis management and tactical crisis response Four disciplines within crisis management: 1. Crisis Prevention 2. Crisis Preparedness 3. Crisis Incident Management 4. Post - Crisis Management From Jaques (2014) SUMMARY Slides from this lecture and readings for next week will be uploaded to Stream Review the Assignment One information and bring your questions to the tutorial next week