2015-16 academic year

Risk and Crisis Communication  (20515)

 

Studies: Public Relations and Publicity degree, Journalism degree

Year: third/ fourth
Trimester: second
Number of credits ECTS: 4 credits
Student working hours: 100 hours
Teaching language: English
Teacher: Joan Francesc Cánovas


1. Presentation of the subject

A crisis isn't a God's punishment. We're facing a normal situation in organizations of what we think and what's not easy to avoid. So, the only thing that we can do is preparing ourselves to manage it. During this management, communications has the main role. In fact, a big part of the process contingency crisis success depends on communications.

But, are we preparing ourselves in peacetime? Are we preventing before healing? Usually not. It's easier that crisis suddenly appears and inhibits us from a strategic management and methodology implementation. These last two aspects are essential in developing the content of the subject.


2. Skills to achieve


General skills

Response ability and decision making.

Ability for analysis and synthesis of materials.

Consensus on the resolution of case studies in team work.

Written reports, structured, clear and understandable.

Planning time needed to develop tasks and activities.


Specific skills

Ability to use tools, messages, analysis of actors who interact with public organizations and apply methods for the treatment of news in crisis circumstances.

Strategic view for communication. Knowledge of communication skills needed to activate in emergency situations and skills to adapt them.

Achieving analysis abilities of communicative media events.

Ability to design and enhance the communication skills of organizations.

Knowledge of the main tools and communication strategies in crisis situations.

Planning, organizing and execution of communicative acts.

Training the ability to exercise communicative work with ethical conduct.


3. Contents

· Perceptions & Reality. Reputations and business.

· How to identify a crisis? What's a crisis. Actors, phases, vulnerability, kinds of crisis.

· Risk and crisis communications.

· Vulnerability. Risk and crisis.

· Priorities during a crisis.

· Strategy and methodology to face a crisis.

· Arguments.

· Plan and Manual for crisis.

· The role of media.

· Organization's spokesperson during a crisis.  

· How to face journalists and media during a crisis.


4. Assessment  


We are in front of a subject based mostly on practice and continuous assessment. With this kind of assessment, the goal is that students achieve at the end of the subject the ability to plan communication strategies focused in risk and crisis communications, main axes of the subject.

Some sessions are based on the development of case studies where the student has to plan a communication strategy and then present it to the rest of the group.

Assessment has two basis components:

  • A work about a crisis case.

  • Case analysis.

The work about a crisis case, in teamwork of 3 people, is the 70% of the subject total punctuation (the 20% of the mark work will be the presentation of it in class).

Case analysis will consist in presenting real cases of crisis communications in class and students have to develop them with the instructions offered by the teacher. This analysis will suppose the 30% of the total mark.

Is necessary to get the minimum of 4 points in each part (work, exam and case analysis) to pass the course.

Whereas the student, who has participated regularly in class and has done works and exam which lead to ordinary assessment don't pass the exam, can present itself to a second exam during the following semester. This resit test will consist on a written exam and an individual work asked by the teacher at the time in which it communicates the insufficient mark. Individual work will suppose the 70% of the final punctuation and the exam will count 30%. To pass the subject during resit test it will be necessary to get a minimum of 4 in both exercises.


5. Bibliography and teaching resources

5.1. 5.2. Basic bibliography and additional bibliography

  • Albrecht, Steve; Crisis management for corporate self-defense. New York, Amacon, 1996.

  • Alcat, Enrique; Y ahora ¿Què? Claves para gestionar una crisis ¡y salir fortalecido! Barcelona, Empresa Activa, 2005.

  • Alcat, Enrique; Seis recetas para superar la crisis. Barcelona, Alienta Editorial, 2009.

  • Arroyo, Luis; Yas, Magali; Los cien errores de la comunicación de la  organizaciones. Madrid, Esic, 2011.

  • Arceo, Alfredo; El portavoz en la comunicación de las organizaciones. Universidad de Alicante, San Vicente del Raspeig, 2012. [Cánovas, Joan Francesc; Los portavoces en los procesos de negociación y de crisis (Capítulo 26)].

  • Ballenato Prieto, Guillermo; Hablar en público. Madrid, Ediciones Pirámide, 2009.

  • Barquero, José Daniel y Barquero, Mario: Marketing relacional y comunicación para situaciones de crisis. Barcelona, Profit Editorial, 2010.

  • Bel Mallén, José Ignacio (coordinador); Comunicar para crear valor. Pamplona, Eunsa, 2005.

  • Casero, Andreu; La construcción mediática de las crisis políticas. Madrid, Fragua, 2008.

  • Cervera, Ángel Luis; Comunicación total. Madrid, Esic, 2008.

  • Cierva de la, Yago; Comunicar en aguas turbulentas. Pamplona, Eunsa, 2015.

  • Coombs, W. Timothy; Ongoing Crisis Communication. Sage, California-London, 2007.

  • De Bengoechea, Mauricio; 7 herramientas para apagar una crisis de gobierno. Bogotá, Lemoine Editores, 2008.

  • Del Pulgar Rodríguez, Luis; Comunicación de empresa en entornos turbulentos. Madrid, Esic, 1999.

  • Elizalde, Luciano H. ; Estrategias en las crisis públicas. Buenos Aires, La Crujía ediciones, 2004.

  • Farré, Jordi y Gonzalo, Juan Luís; Teoría de la comunicación de riesgo. Barcelona, Editorial UOC, 2011.

  • Fernández-Aceytuno, Juan; Gestión en tiempos de crisis. Barcelona, Deusto, 2009.

  • Fink, Steven; Crisis management planning for the inevitable. USA, Authors Guild Back inprint.com Edition, 2002.

  • Fita Trias, Jaume; Comunicación en programas de crisis. Barcelona, Gestion 2000, 1999.

  • Francescutti, Pablo (editor); Comunicación de riesgo. Comunicación de crisis. Madrid, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 2008.

  • González Herrero, Alfonso; Marketing preventivo. La comunicación de crisis en la empresa. Barcelona, Bosch, 1998.

  • Healt, Robert; Crisis management for managers and executives. London. Financial Times, 1998.

  • Knapp, Mark L.; La comunicación no verbal. El cuerpo y el entorno. Barcelona, Paidós comunicación, 2001.

  • Lilley, Roy; Cómo tratar con gente difícil. Barcelona, The Sunday Times, 2002.

  • López-Quesada Gil, Miguel; ¡Estamos en crisis! Madrid. CIE Dossat 2000, 2003.

  • Losada Díaz, José Carlos; Comunicación en la gestión de crisis. Lecciones prácticas. Barcelona, Editorial UOC, 2010.

  • Losada Díaz, José Carlos (coord); Gestión de la comunicación en las organizaciones. Barcelona, Ariel Comunicación, 2004.

  • Luján, José Luis y Echeverría (eds); Gobernar los riesgos. Madrid, Editorial Biblioteca Nueva, 2009.

  • Marín Calahorro, Francisco; Comunicación de crisis. Madrid, LID, 2009.

  • Marín Calahorro, Francisco; Gestión técnica y de la comunicación en situaciones especiales. Madrid, Fragua, 2005.

  • Mejía, Marta i Newman Bruno; Organizaciones en la mira. México, Comunicación Total. 2009.

  • Mitroff, Ian I, i Pearson, Christine M; Cómo gestionar una crisis. Barcelona, Gestion 2000, 2002.

  • Mitroff, Ian; Convierta problemas en soluciones inteligentes. Barcelona, Bresca, 2012.

  • Pease, Allan y Barbara; El lenguaje del cuerpo. Barcelona, Editorial Amat, 2006.

  • Pescador Martín, Mercedes; Viagra. Bilbao, Deusto, 2001.

  • Pinsdorf, Marian K.; Communicating when your company is under siege. Surviving public crisis. New York, Fordham University Press, 1999.

  • Pont, Carles. Comunicació i crisi. La gestió de la comunicació pública en episodis d'emergència.Barcelona, Editorial UOC, 2009.

  • Ruiz Balza, A. y Coppola G.; Gestión de riesgo comunicacional. Buenos Aires, La Crujía, 2011.

  • Sanjuán, Antonio; Esto rompe. Casos de productos en apuros y gestión de crisis. A Coruña, Netbiblo, 2002.

  • Sánchez Calero, María Luisa; La información especializada en la gestión de crisis. Madrid, Fragua, 2006.

  • Torres, Pep; El arte del Ruido. Barcelona, Plataforma Editorial, 2011.

  • Tuñez López, Miguel; La comunicación preventiva. Netbiblo, La Coruña, 2007.

  • Redorta, Josep; Gestión de conflictos. Barcelona, Editorial UOC, 2011.

  • Regester, Michael & Larkin, Judy; Risk Issues and Crisis Management. A Casebook of Best Practice. London & Sterling, Kogan Page, 2005.

  • Ulmer, R. R.; Sellnow, T. L.; Seeger, M. W. Effective crisis communication: moving from crisis to opportunity. California- London. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2015.

  • VV.AA.; Gestión de crisis. Convertirlas en oportunidades. Barcelona, Harvard Business Essentials, Deusto, 2004.

  • VV.AA.; Gestión de la crisis. Bilbao, Ediciones Deusto, 2001.

  • VV.AA.; La gestión de la comunicación de crisis en España. Experiencias y prácticas de las empresas. Madrid, DIRCOM, 2008.

  • VV.AA.; La comunicación en situaciones de crisis: del 11M al 14M. Pamplona, Eunsa, 2006.

  • VV.AA.; Marketing relacional y comunicación para situaciones de crisis: que hacer antes, durante y después para proteger y salvar su empresa. Barcelona, Bresca, 2010.

  • Xifra, Jordi; Comunicación proactiva: la gestión de los conflictos potenciales en las organizaciones. Barcelona, Gedisa, 2009.


5.3. Teaching resources

Bernstein Crisis Management LLC

Crisis Management Institute

Institute for Crisis Management

Crisis Management International

lacomunicaciondecrisis.wordpress.com


6. Methodology

Subject is going to combine the following methodologies:

-Master classes

-Case analysis in class

-Individual Tutorials

-Case investigation by students

-Students' presentations


7. Activities plan

Activity in class / Sort of activity

Sort of activity/ Material preparation

Week 1

Presentation of subject. The role of media.

Master class

How can we identify a crisis? Preparation of work.

Case analysis / Tutorials

Week 2

What's a crisis? Actors, phases, vulnerability, typology... Risk and Crisis communications

Master class

Preparation and priorities

Master class

Week 3

Definition of work

Individual tutorials

Plan and crisis Manual I

Master class

Week 4

Case analysis

Case analysis

Plan and crisis Manual II Strategy, tactics and methodology

Master class

Week 5

Tutorials

Individual tutorials

Tutorials

Individual tutorials

Week 6

Arguments. The organization's crisis spokesperson.

Master class

Case analysis

Case analysis

Week 7

Tutorials

Individual tutorials

Tutorials

Individual tutorials

Week 8

How to face journalists and media. Media role. Some reflections on communications.

Master class

Case analysis

Case analysis

Week 9

Case analysis

Case analysis

Presentation of works

Presentations

Week 10

Presentation of works

Presentations

Presentation of works

Presentations