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Managing a Crisis Using Public Relations Managing a Crisis Using Public Relations Proactive planning is the concept of planning AHEAD of the actual event, to be prepared for it, whatever happens. Being proactive is the opposite of reactive, which is waiting for failure. Proactive is the changing of parts before they fail. By being proactive you avoid being over-run by the event, and have plans and procedures in place to cope with it.
Emergency organizations, like the police have plans for future events like riots, floods or earthquakes, you should, too. In business, it is always good to be prepared. The feedback mechanism is usually implemented by using web forms and placing company e-mails and phone numbers on a contact page. I would use e-mails as a feedback mechanism for all those affected families and worried public. An ineffectual way of deploying a business plan is writing one and then letting it sit on a bookshelf somewhere collecting dust.
Things I would not do in this situation are; ignore the worried public/customers, lie about the situation, and blame some other organization for what happened. Going back to proactive management, this is something all business should do or have. They could prevent accidents or any problems if they have at proactive crisis management plan. For example, airlines always check their airplanes before takeoff; they don’t wait for a problem to appear in order to solve it. Companies should practice the same way.
As I always say “It is better to be prepared than to be surprised”. Reactive, meaning, “to trigger reaction” is used in the preparation of an organization for the unwelcome or the unexpected. Reactive Crisis Management is exercised by corporations after an incident that can damage their reputation of it occurs. Public Relations (PR) plays a crucial role in such situations because it is the communication link between the company’s management, employees, the media, government agencies, and legal entities, etc. it is all done by the PR Personnel. The performance of PR during such situations can mean the salvation or the demise of a corporation. So you see they are vital for the organization in a situation like this. References (2008) Wiki Answers: What is proactive planning?. Retrieved from: http://www. answers. com/topic/what-is-proactive-planning? cat=biz-fin (2008) Wiki Answers: What is reactive planning?. Retrieved from: http://www. answers. com/topic/what-is-reactive-planning-1? cat=biz-fin