Crisis management


1. Look at the forms of the word crises and its collocations.

Word forms

singular crisis
plural crises

Collocations

ADJ. acute, grave, major, severe, full-blown | growing, mounting | impending, looming

VERB + CRISIS be faced with, be hit by, face, go through, have (informal)suffer With competition from cheap imports, the British coal industry is facing a serious crisis. He's having a mid-life crisis. | cause, create, lead to, precipitate, provoke, spark off | deal with, defuse, ease, handle, overcome, resolve, respond to, solve, tackle Union leaders are taking immediate steps to defuse the crisis. attempts to ease the town's housing crisis | survive, weather | avert, prevent | aggravate

CRISIS + VERB arise, occur waiting for the next crisis to arise | deepen, worsen | be over As soon as the crisis was over, she relaxed.

2. Read the headlines and explain the meaning of the new words.

3. Answer the questions.
  • Think of a crisis you have/ your country has experienced. Say what caused the crisis, what happened and how it was handled. What implications did it have? Do you think it could have been averted?
  • What sort of crises do business managers have to face?
  • How is a business crisis different form a business problem?
  • How important is it to have a contingency plan/ set up a crisis-management team before the crisis hits/ accept liability/ disclose as much information as possible?
  • Can you think of any examples of recent business crises? Which do you think have been the worst in recent years? 
4. What do you think is the best way to tackle a crisis?

5. Look at the crisis management tips. Which ones are the most important and why?

Anticipate the worst
Conducting meetings with your crisis team at least once a month to brainstorm possible problems and setbacks and how to control them is a simple way to prepare you and your staff in case trouble ever hits the fan. It will allow everyone to be on the same page if a misfortune occurs.
Respond in a timely manner
The more you wait, the more damage can be done.
Transparency is everything
Honesty is the most underrated tool to use for your crisis management strategy, and genuinely apologizing and accepting responsibility is the only way you’re going to receive forgiveness, no matter what the severity of the situation is.
Keep everyone in the loop
Constantly update all the stakeholders with any new information you receive on the situation, and outline to them how you’re going about handling the crisis.
Stay socially active
You should constantly be updating your social media accounts to ensure to your loyal clientele that you have everything under control. The more you remain dormant on social media, the more people will assume that the problem is out of control.
Don’t bury bad news.
Don’t try to conceal what is happening, it will get out eventually and aggravate the situation.
Never say “No comment” or “Off the record”.
Saying “No comment” or “off the record” implies guilt. Remaining silent on your part will only increase employee and shareholder anxiety.

6. Watch the video and answer the questions.



  • What is a crisis?
  • Is it always possible to predict and avert a crisis?
  • What steps need to be taken to respond to a crisis effectively?

Homework
Read the article

Related materials
video exercise
Flashcards
Market Leader upper-intermediate
4 stage plan

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