Page 29 - Crisis Communication Practical PR Strategies

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1 10 Crisis Communication
Are more accidents taking place than, say, 20 or 30 years ago? Most
definitely not. But the environment has fundamentally changed. The
role of the media has increased significantly. The chance that an inci-
dent escapes the attention of the all-seeing eyes of the journalists has
become significantly smaller. But also, and especially, companies and
managers are faced with new, major and additional responsibilities.

Stakeholders are everywhere

In a manner of speaking, corporate managers in the 1970s and 80s
were only responsible to their shareholders and, in a couple of
instances, their ‘co-workers’ as modern employers call their
employees. Today, however, companies are being scrutinized con-
stantly. Little of what companies do – or fail to do – escapes the atten-
tion of the many stakeholders. For, it is true, in addition to the
shareholders, there is a whole slew of other parties who are involved
with the company, or more aptly, feel involved with what companies
do: trade unions, environmental associations, animal rights organiza-
tions, action groups of all kinds, the unavoidable TV, radio and
printed press, the bloggers, but also, bankers, financial analysts, secu-
rities watchdogs, governments and parliaments with investigative
commissions. In short, there is a virtually infinite constellation of
directly and indirectly involved parties.
In addition, companies now live with a constantly expanding and
increasingly complex battery of legislation. This is the case at more
and more levels: in addition to the municipal and the provincial, there
are regional and federation jurisdictions. Standing above all of those is
the national or federal administration with, in turn, supranational
policy bodies above them. The world is our village: companies are
increasingly dominated by global players such as the World Bank, the
International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization.

The accountability factor

The whole range of international treaties and supranational legisla-
tion must be imposed, implemented and monitored nationally.
Innumerable civil servants in ministries and departments fill their
days with these activities. Inspection services check on the goings on at
companies. Here, too, significant new trends arise that have an imme-
diate impact on the crisis-sensitivity of a company. The creation of the