Business Crisis and Continuity Management (BCCM) Class Session 21

1. Business Crisis and Continuity Management (BCCM)Class Session 21 21 - 1

2. Saul Alinsky’s Rules for RadicalsSeal, Mike. Saul Alinsky, Community Organizing and Rules for Radicals. • “Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have.” • “Never go outside the expertise of your people.” Feeling secure stiffens the backbone. • “Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy.” Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety, and uncertainty. • “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.” If the rule is that every letter gets a reply, send 30,000. • “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.” There’s no defense. It’s irrational. It’s infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into concessions. • “A good tactic is one your people enjoy.” They’ll keep doing it without urging and come back to do more. They’ll even suggest better ones. 21 - 2

3. Saul Alinsky’s Rules for RadicalsSeal, Mike. Saul Alinsky, Community Organizing and Rules for Radicals. • “A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.” Don't become old news. Even radical activists get bored. So to keep them excited and involved, organizers are constantly coming up with new tactics. • “Keep the pressure on. Never let up.” Keep trying new tactics to keep the opposition off balance. As the enemy masters one approach, hit them with something new. • “The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself." Imagination and ego can dream up many more consequences than any activist. • "If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive." Violence from the other side can win the public to your side because the public sympathizes with the underdog. • "The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative." Never let the enemy score points because you're caught without a solution to the problem. • “Pick the target and freeze it, personalize it, polarize it.” Isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people, not institutions. People hurt faster than institutions. 21 - 3

4. Steps Common to Most Confrontational Crises • Definition of grievances and remedial demands by an individual or group. • Organization of a social action group to press demands. • Solicitation of public approval and support for action. • Use of crisis-provoking tactics. • Involvement of news media. Lerbinger: The Crisis Manager 21 - 4

5. Confrontation Crisis Management Process • Planning a response. • Evaluating the organization’s vulnerability. • Meeting with reasonable and potent activist groups. • Using legal approaches sparingly. • Preparing to negotiate. • Taking the initiative when dealing with the media. Lerbinger: The Crisis Manager 21 - 5

6. Proactively Managing Public Relations • Meet with leaders of neighborhood associations before meeting with all residents in a public forum. • Keep neighbors informed of the organization’s mission and plans through periodic newsletters. • Meet with the local zoning director and community planning director to ascertain what changes in local building laws may be contemplated. • Join the local chamber of commerce or board of trade as well as other local groups. Contribute to meaningful community programs. • Hire a clipping service that scans all area newspapers and business magazines to look for early warnings of potential problems. Barton: Crisis in Organizations 21 - 6

7. Proactively Managing Public Relations • Periodically issue news releases to keep the community updated about the organization. • Urge the collective organization and individual members to get involved with the community and maintain positive relations. • Make publications concerning the organization available to community members. Emphasize positive contributions to the community in these publications. • If deemed appropriate by a thorough analysis, provide support for public officials who understand the organization and the benefits it provides to the community. • If major physical changes are contemplated, develop a master plan that can be shared with the community. • If the organization has a tax-exempt status, consider the costs and benefits of making contributions to the community. Barton: Crisis in Organizations 21 - 7

8. Organizational Vulnerability • Type of organization. • Degree of identification of the product to the organization. • Classification of products as convenience items. • Availability of competing products. • Connection of the organization to previous controversies or social issues. • Strength of the potential adversaries. • Legal rights of potential adversaries. Lerbinger: The Crisis Manager 21 - 8

9. Drivers of Vulnerability • Ownership of the organization. • Size of the organization and adequacy of insurance. • Ability to read and act on warning signals. • Nature of products and services. • Public awareness. • Location. Barton: Crisis in Organizations 21 - 9

10. Reasons for Avoiding a Confrontation • Issues are complex and difficult to explain briefly. • The confrontation will divert attention from more important matters. • The opposition is very strong and/or is promoting an issue that the organization does not want to be perceived as opposing. • The opposition needs public exposure to improve its position and power. • The organization has overwhelming resources or an unassailable position from which to negotiate. The organization does not want to be perceived as being in a Goliath-David confrontation. Lerbinger: The Crisis Manager 21 - 10

11. Crises of Malevolence from Outside the Organization • Product tampering. • Terrorism. • Extortion. • Corporate espionage. • Rumors. • Disinformation. Lerbinger: The Crisis Manager 21 - 11

12. Crises of Malevolence from Inside the Organization • Workplace violence. • Employee sabotage. • Sexual harassment. • Discrimination due to race, religion, sex, physical capabilities, etc. 21 - 12

13. Each member of the small group is to individually prepare a two-page written report covering the following points • A brief description or definition of the topic. • Specific legal protection for employees. • Current trends or issues. • A discussion of the impacts on the affected people and the workplace in general. • What should be done to prevent events (preventive controls). • What should be done if an event occurs (consequence mitigation controls). 21 - 13

14. Strategies for Managing a Crisis of Malevolence • Reduce vulnerability to the threat (hazard). • Engage in intelligence activities. • Strengthen security measures. • Take defensive action. • Seek law enforcement support. Lerbinger: The Crisis Manager 21 - 14

15. Corporate Governance • Corporate Governance is concerned with holding the balance between economic and social goals and between individual and communal goals. The corporate governance framework is there to encourage the efficient use of resources and equally to require accountability for the stewardship of those resources. The aim is to align as nearly as possible the interests of individuals, corporations and society." • Sir Adrian Cadbury in 'Global Corporate Governance Forum27, 2009 • “Corporate governance refers to the broad range of policies and practices that stockholders, executive managers, and boards of directors use to (1) manage themselves and (2) fulfill their responsibilities to investors and other stakeholders.” Nathan Hurst: Corporate Ethics 21 - 15

16. Level 4: Organizational Strategies Level 3: Organizational Structure Level 2: Organizational Culture Level 1: Character of the Individuals working for the organization Plans, Mechanisms and Procedures for Crisis Management Dedicated Infrastructure for Crisis Management Organizational Beliefs and Rationalizations Individual Defense Mechanisms THE ONION MODEL OF CRISIS MGT. Source: Pauchant, Thierry C. and Mitroff, Ian I. 1992. Transforming the Crisis-Prone Organization. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Pages 49. 21 - 16

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18. Seven Keys to protecting Your Company • Obtaining top-level support and commitment. • Establishing corporate policies that integrate environmental issues. • Establishing interfaces between corporate and business-unit staffs that reflect the corporate culture and develop trust throughout the organization. • Developing a high degree of employee awareness and training that supports an environmentally conscious culture throughout the organization. • Implementing a strong auditing program to assess progress and compliance. • Establishing a strong legal base for the environmental program through general counsel involvement and reporting. • Establishing ownership of environmental programs at all levels of the organization. Hunt and Auster: Proactive Environmental Management 21 - 18