Crisis Action Planning

Preventing a crisis

A crisis can be preventable by having a crisis management plan that is updated regularly (Coombs, 2007). It is also important to have a designated crisis management team and to conduct exercises and test the plans on a regular basis. Such measures can help identify potential crises and determine ways to prevent them. These measures also help a great deal in case the crises actually occur. Effective performance in such situations is extremely important since anything less than that could result in very high costs both in terms of lives and money.

Using a crisis to one's advantage

A manager can use a crisis to their advantage through effective crisis management. They can do this by using their imagination and paying attention to indications of weakness. The manager may also make comparisons with past similar experiences of the organization. It is also important for the manager to listen to experts from within the organization and those from outside (Wharton School, 2009).

Strategic approach to crisis and how it helps crisis action planning

A strategic approach to crisis action planning involves several phases. If a crisis develops requiring consideration for military action, it assessed and reviewed to determine if such action is necessary. If it is necessary, tentative courses of action are generated based on doctrine, past exercises, and existing concept and operations plans. Various estimates are developed for personnel and presented for approval. On approval, the force composition, logistics for mission support and all the transportation needs are defined, planned, synthesized and simulated. Finally, the operation orders are carried out and monitored. This approach helps crisis action planning because it is a distributed, interactive process (Zweben & Fox, 1994).

References

Coombs, T. (2007, October 30). Crisis Management and Communications. Retrieved August 5, 2011, from http://www.instituteforpr.org/topics/crisis-management-and-communications/

Wharton School. (2009, June 3). Leadership Strategies for Dealing with the Crisis. Retrieved August 6, 2011, from http://www.wharton.universia.net/index.cfm?fa=viewArticle&id=1724&language=english

Zweben, M., & Fox, M. S. (1994). Intelligent scheduling. San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann.